Divine Intervention
by Glock3bb
Summary: Two worlds, separated for millenia, are now poised to collide once more. Two gods flee from their homes, seeking to start anew somewhere else. A small boy will gain that which he has always longed for. All of this because she chose to save him.
1. Choices Part I

**I do not own Naruto or God of War. This story is co-authored by The Dark Void.**

XXX

"You will pay for this Zeus. Be certain of that!"

In the middle of a war-torn city, surrounded by the remains of allies and foes alike, Kratos, God of War and the Ghost of Sparta, used his last breath to curse the god who had betrayed him. All of his accomplishments: the chaining of the great titan Atlas, the slaying of Ares, his defeat of the Colossus of Rhodes, now meant nothing. His body was broken, his power gone, and his armies slaughtered. All that remained was to fall back and be wrapped in the cold embrace of death.

A few feet away, Zeus, Lord of Olympus, watched as the hands of the underworld appeared and clenched their gnarled fingers around the fading Spartan. He turned and began to walk away when he suddenly stopped. A shivering chill ran down his spine, and the god worried that all had not gone according to his plan.

XXX

Deeper and deeper into Hades, Kratos was dragged down by the disembodied arms. Far below his limp corpse burned the savage flames of Tartarus. This dark inferno seemed pulse and sear even stronger as he descended as if anticipating the arrival of their latest victim. The screams of the damned rose up from the abyss to create a disturbing chorus that echoed off the charred crags.

But this was not to be the end. Each story begins with a choice, and even the Sisters of Fate, with their vast pools of knowledge, are unable to foresee every possible outcome.

All around, dirt and stone began to shake. A bright light burst forward from high above, splitting apart the earthen ceiling, and its radiance cast down upon the realms below. Rays like blue fire lanced through the air with speed and purpose. Their target was the body of the dead ghost still being pulled towards its final destination. The beams pierced through Kratos and enveloped him in their glow. Any black hand nearby was instantly turned to ash. The other hands quickly retreated back into their crevasses, fearing the light's brilliance.

Inside of the aura hung Kratos, suspended between the land of the living and that of the dead. Slowly, the light stabbing through him started to spread until his entire body glowed. As it went, every cut and bruise it encountered began to heal. The gaping wound in his abdomen hissed and bubbled as it gradually sealed itself shut. All that remained of the terrible blow was a thick scar running the length of his stomach. Finally, his injuries mended and life restored, the light lifted Kratos up, back to the mortal plane and a new destiny.

XXX

Slowly, the Ghost of Sparta began to regain consciousness. As he came to, the sounds of a heated argument fell upon his ears.

"-at are you doing!?" a powerful voice roared, it's anger palpable even to the recently resurrected warrior.

"I am repaying a debt that has long been standing." Another voice replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

Kratos stirred his tired body. The voices, one male, one female, sounded familiar, but their identities eluded him. Sluggishly, he opened his eyes until they cracked apart ever so slightly.

"You foolish child! You do not understand; he will bring Olympus crashing down around us!"

Kratos' mind suddenly snapped to attention, willing himself to do something, anything, to harm the being who had betrayed him. However, the gray-skinned man was still weak from his previous battle and trip into the world below. His limbs were of lead and his chest constricted, making even the slightest breath a laboring ordeal. The Ghost of Sparta could do nothing but lie there and seethe silently.

"As would be right, _Father_. The feminine voice spat out the last word with little hidden disgust. "Look around you. You waged war against the titans because of their tyrannical rule, yet see what we have become. We are no longer gods of life, whom our people can look to with hope, but gods of death, whose wrath mortals are forced to incessantly fear. I may not be able to right the wrongs of all Olympus, but I can still save this man from the fate he has been delivered."

"Stand aside, Daughter. He must die, and you will be punished for your rash actions. I will not allow this heresy to continue any further!" Zeus said, his voice trembling trembling the very air with its rage.

"Then I regret to inform you that this matter is no longer your concern. Farewell, F_ather_. May we meet again on better terms."

At that, Kratos saw a heavy mist begin to surround himself. Zeus gave one final shout of fury but could not stop the woman from fleeing with the revived Spartan. Kratos his body being swept away by an invisible force. Finally, the toll wreaked upon his entire form caught up to the exhausted man, and he fell back into blissful unconsciousness.

XXX

When he awoke, Kratos quickly sat up, drawing the twin blades from his back. His heart pounded as memories of what had just occured flooded into his mind. As his lungs heaved for fresh air, he immediately noticed that he was no longer in burning ruins of Rhodes, nor was he back in his private chambers on Mt. Olympus. Instead, Kratos saw that he was in the middle of a small clearing, surrounded by what seemed to be trees made out of solid stone.

"Calm yourself, Kratos." From his right came the feminine voice he had heard earlier. Swiftly throwing a blade towards the sound, Kratos turned his head as well, and was momentarily shocked by who he saw standing before him.

She was a women of medium height, her visage a picture of royalty. Vibrant blue eyes gazed upon him softly but with a hint of fear and remorse just underneath the surface. She wore a bronze cuirass and shoulder guards with flourishing designs decorating their faces. Metallic greaves and gauntlets studded with emeralds completed her set of armor. Over the top, she wore pure white linen of the finest quality. Her tawny hair was pulled up in a small bun. Framing the top and sides of her face was a headpiece made of gold bands, three jewels adorning the center of her forehead.

"Athena!" Kratos' disbelief quickly turned to anger as he let out a growl. Through clenched teeth, he ground out. "Where am I? How am I alive?"

"You are in the Petrified Forest, near the eastern end of the Persian Empire," Athena said. "And all will be explained shortly."

In a flash, Kratos was on her, grasping her throat as he pinned her to a tree. "Do not play your games with me, Athena. Answer my question!" Throwing her to the ground back in the clearing, he watched as Athena rubbed her throat, coughing heavily.

"I arrived at the battle too late to stop Zeus' final blow, but I was able to revive you and take you away from the city. It was my hope to let you have a second chance." Kratos snorted,

"The gods give no second chances." These words brought a smirk to Athena's face.

"Then it is a good thing I am no longer a god." Kratos narrowed his eyes at the Olympian, silently demanding she continue. "There is no way to restore someone's own life Kratos. Life must come from life. I had no other choice but to give up my godhood, my immortality, and place it in you to pull you back from the depths of Hades. I am as mortal as you now, Kratos." With a grunt, the Ghost of Sparta turned and yanked the blade he had embedded into one of the surrounding trees. Without a single glance back, he began to walk away. His thirst for revenge was already on the rise.

"Kratos, where are you going?" Athena yelled after him.

"Zeus must pay for what he did to me."

"Kratos, stop!" With that, Kratos came to a halt, as if invisible ropes had suddenly attached themselves to his arms and legs.

"Do not get in my way Athena, or you will suffer the same fate." Kratos snarled, his voice filled with malice, as he struggled against his bindings. Even without his contribution, the Spartan could feel the magic's power steadily waning. Beads of sweat began to form on Athena's pristine face.

"Listen to me, Kratos. You can not win against Zeus. He is too strong, and you have lost all the power you had as a god. Please trust me."

"And what would you have me do Athena, run away like a coward?"

"No, I am asking you to let Olympus destroy itself." At that, Kratos stopped his struggle against whatever spell Athena had used to bind him. Turning to glare at her once more, he said,

"Explain yourself."

"You know very well what I speak of, as did our late brother Ares. A god's power comes from those who worship him. Should the deity be completely abandoned, they will slowly fade away into nothingness, and a new god will arise to take their place."

At these words, Kratos relaxed his muscles, and Athena relinquished her hold on him. Memories from his quest for Pandora's box flashed through Kratos' mind. It was true that, during said journey, he had learned a different way to kill a god. It was the strategy Ares had been using when he razed Athens to the ground. During his own reign as God of War, the Ghost of Sparta had heard his own men talk about how he was more real than any other god they prayed to. He was there on the battlefield with them, displaying his power before their very eyes. His men soon claimed they no longer cared if they were in the favor of the gods, as long as he led them in battle.

"You have been on Olympus. You have seen the rot. Soon all of Mt. Olympus will be decaying as the people turn their backs on the gods they once worshiped. What crueler fate, and better revenge, is there than to let Zeus be his own undoing?" Athena finished. A tense silence enveloped the clearing until Kratos finally relented.

"Tell me your plan Athena." Said former goddess let out a relieved sigh and smiled at her half-sibling.

"That is simple my dear Spartan, we are heading to the East."

XXX

After a day and a half of hard traveling, the two runaway gods found themselves at the end of the forest. Before them was a large chasm, with the bottom and opposite side unable to be seen.

"What now, Athena?" Kratos questioned while sneering. "Is your plan to simply jump of this ledge and let the Fates take care of the rest?"

"I don't understand. Everything I read and researched said there was another world to the east of ours. I don't know where I went wrong." Athena peered into the blackness beyond the cliff they stood upon. She noticed something strange about it and reached out her right arm. Her fingers suddenly brushed against something, sending a visible ripple through the dark void.

"**TURN BACK, OLYMPIANS!"**

Kratos and Athena jumped back and looked around, searching for the source of the high, rasping voice that had just spoken to them. Seeing nothing, Kratos yelled,

"Show yourself, coward!"

"**It is not wise to anger me, Ghost of Sparta!" **This time, a figure appeared with the voice, floating above the empty expanse. It had long, wild, white hair with two red horns sprouting from the top of it's head. Its skin was a sickly pale purple. It wore a large billowing cloak that was opened slightly at the top, exposing its withered torso. Both of its eyes were entirely black, save for its golden irises. It held a long strand of beads in its left hand, and pointed teeth held a knife clenched between it's gaping maw. **"For it will be the last thing you will ever do."**

"The Shinigami." Athena whispered in horror.

"You know what this thing is?" Kratos felt his anger rising again. He had trusted Athena, yet now it seemed she had been leaving him in the dark once again.

"The God of Death. I had heard rumors of his existence, but I did not expect to encounter him so soon."

"**What are two children of Zeus doing at my border? Has that fool sent you to spy upon me?"**

"No, Lord Shinigami." Athena said. "We are here of our own free will. I do not believe anyone else on Olympus knows the truth of your existence except for us."

"**Then what is your purpose? If you did not come to spy on me, why are you trying to enter the East?"**

"We come seeking refuge. We have abandoned Olympus and were hoping to find asylum beyond this world."

"Athena, what is going on here? How is there a god that I have never heard of before?" Kratos' temper was was steadily increasing. He had been manipulated before and did not wish to be so again.

"**Foolish child. So even the stories have forgotten my existence." **The Shinigami said, with a hint of sadness in his voice. **"As for your request, I can not allow it. My lands have lived safely away from the wars of other gods and titans. Allowing you to cross could alert Olympus to their existence, and that is something I will not allow."**

"Please Lord Shinigami, you must help us. Zeus is becoming more power-hungry by the day, and soon the veil will no longer hide you. Should you help us, I promise we will aid you however we can." Athena was becoming desperate. Soon her magic would completely fade, and she would no longer be able to hide herself and Kratos from Zeus' watchful eyes. Then they would be at his mercy.

"What!? I will not be forced into the service another god Athena!" Kratos' rage was at the bursting point now. He had served various gods before, and all three times it had cost him dearly.

The Shinigami gazed upon the two former gods, a debate waging within his mind. While he had not expected the eastern lands to remain hidden forever, he had hoped they would only be discovered once Olympus had weakened itself considerably. A war right now would cost his people dearly, and while he may be a god of death, he did not wish to take more lives than he needed to. In the end, an idea came to him as he gazed upon the Spartan before him. Memories of an event six years ago passed through his mind.

"**Do not worry, Ghost of Sparta. I will not abuse any power I hold over you. I will eventually require your assistance, but that time is far off. For now, close your eyes, and when you wake up, you will be near one of my chosen cities, Konohagakure. There, I will tell you what I wish from you."**

As the Shinigami spoke, Athena and Kratos fell into a deep sleep. If all worked as planned, he too could right a long standing wrong. He reached a cold hand through the invisible veil and picked up the sleeping warriors. The Death God then pulled them through with only slight resistance from the barrier. Their forms began to shimmer and fade along with his until blackness once more reigned supreme.

XXX

Zeus Almighty, Ruler of Olympus, and King of the Gods, sat upon his throne, gazing down at the Earth. Not only had Kratos survived his attack, his own daughter had been the one to ruin his plan. Now, he looked for them, searching every hiding place he knew of. It was only a matter of time before Athena slipped up. He would find them, kill Kratos, and punish his daughter for her foolishness.

Yes_,_ Zeus thought with a smile. Soon, they will be within his grasp, and all will be righted once more. Olympus will continue to stand, and all who would oppose it shall fall.

Lost in his thoughts, Zeus did not notice the slight wavering in the blackness on the eastern edge of the world. Nor, in his arrogance, did he fathom the thought that his world was not as small as he thought it was.

XXX

**Phew, done. Just to make sure everyone understands, this takes place just after the first level in God of War II. Anything that happens after that has not taken place yet. Also, anything that we did not learn about in God of War, Chains of Olympus, the first level of God of War II, or the God of War book, for all intents and purposes has never happened. Sorry for the lack of action, but don't worry, there will be plenty soon enough. See ya.**

_**Glock3bb, The Dark Void**_


	2. Choices Part II

**I do not own Naruto or God of War, and neither does The Dark Void.**

XXX

As the Shinigami's magic worked its will upon Kratos, fear took hold of the Ghost of Sparta. He knew what was to come, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. A flood of images flashed through his mind's eye, forcing him to relive that awful day once more.

He could remember every detail: the hard, smooth stone underneath his feet, the smell of smoke and flame as a village burned around him, the low, raspingsound of the priestess' warning, the red veil over his eyes as he butchered anyone he could find, and the warm blood of his family running down his blades.

He remembered falling to his knees, his mind unable to comprehend the sheer horror of the crime he had just committed. His heart felt as if an invisible were squeezing it harder and harder, and he could feel the bile that had churned in his throat. Stained hands shook uncontrollably.

He remembered cradling his wife's prone body against his tattooed chest. His tears had cascaded down his face onto his daughter's lifeless corpse. He could feel the painful sting of their ashes being permanently coated onto his skin.

There was nothing Kratos could do to protect himself from the memories. His anger was a cracked shield in the cage of his mind. The hatred towards Ares for bringing his family to that accursed temple was smothered. His rage at Athena for permitting such a thing to happen under her watch was drowned. His contempt of the gods for their empty promises of salvation fizzled and died. All these defenses were useless here, for deep down, he knew the truth. He knew who was truly responsible, and he was never allowed to forget.

On and on went Kratos' torture. The spell laid upon the Spartan prevented him from waking up and escaping the nightmares that plagued him. Hours went by until, finally, the magic released its grip and allowed him to flee from the past that still haunted him.

XXX

Kratos woke with a start, a cold sheen of sweat covering his gray skin. The lingering feelings caused by his dream were still there, but he forced himself to repress it. As the memories faded into his subconscious, his body began to calm. He looked around and took in his new surroundings.

Gone was the forest of rock and stone, replaced by one life and greenery. He appeared to be on a deserted, yet well-worn road, and in the distance, he could see the large gates to a fortress or city. The afternoon sun beat down upon the world above him.

Kratos was soon pulled from his examinations by the sound of voices behind him. The gray-skinned man turned and found Athena and the Shinigami deep in conversation. The Shinigami, seeing that Kratos was awake, spoke to him in his bone-chilling voice.

"**Good, you are awake. First I must apologize to you, Spartan. I did not know of your...condition before I forced you to sleep." **Kratos' anger began to boil. This was the being responsible for his recent torment. He was about to lash out and tear into the Death God with his blades, but the Shinigami's next words caused him to pause. **"It is better that you learned this lesson now though. You will encounter many new dangers in this world, and they may not always strike the way you expect. There are quite a few in my realm for which using an opponent's worst memories against them is child's play. Guard your mind well Spartan, or you may find it used against you." **Turning back towards Athena, the god continued. **"Go now. I have told you what you need to do once you reach gates of Konohagakure. May we not meet again soon."**

With that the Shinigami faded in to thin air, as if he had never been there to begin with. Athena turned towards Kratos with a weak smile on her face. "Very well the, I suggest we start walking; it seems we still have a good distance to go."

After sending her a quick glare, Kratos turned and began to walk in the direction of the gates. The two travelled in silence the entire way, one unwilling to talk, the other afraid of saying the wrong thing. By the time they had reached the large stone walls surrounding the village, the bright sun had already begun to set. As they entered the city, they saw a small booth with two curious individuals resting calmly within.

The one on the right had long, dark, spiky locks, a small patch of hair on his chin, and a whit bandage running across his face over his nose. The other had a navy blue bandana covering his head, a large swath of hair covering the left side of his face. Attached to said bandana was a metal plate with a queer symbol engraved upon it. His partner had a matching sheet on his headband as well. Both of them had on dark green vest that seemed to act as a form of armor. As if on cue, the one with the bandage across his face cracked open a tired eye and began to speak when Kratos and Athena reached them.

"Welcome to Konoha, please write your names and reasons for being here on the sheet provided. The nearest hotels are th..." He started in to recite in a dull tone. Upon becoming fully conscious though, the man froze. His self-preservation alarms were blaring as a giant, gray-skinned man glared down at him. With a gulp he continued, "The nearest inns are the Green Dragon, and the Prancing Pony. Is there anything else we can do for you?"

"Yes, we are wandering mercenaries from the western continent. We wish to become shinobi of your village." Athena said with a polite smile. Still eying Kratos, the man replied,

"Well then, you'll need to speak with the Hokage. He usually meets with newcomers wishing to join our ranks from ten o'clock in the morning to noon. Until then, you will need fill out these forms and find a place to stay. Tomorrow, head to the large building at the center of the village and tell the receptionist what you told us. Is there anything else?" Shaking her head, Athena turned and headed towards the building marked The Green Dragon. Kratos began to follow, but soon turned and began heading towards the crowed market place he could see a few blocks down.

Once they had left, Kotetsu let out a sigh of relief and wiped some sweat from his brow. If anything could convince him to not fall asleep while on gate duty again, it was the bloodlust he had felt coming off of the man he had just encountered. The worst part, however, was that it felt like he had been restraining it. Next to him, his partner awoke with a yawn.

"So, did I miss anything?"

XXX

It was just another day in the Konoha West Market. All around people pushed and shoved, trying to fight their way through the bustling village streets. It was into this chaotic arena that Kratos now entered.

Normally, the Spartan hated being in such places, but the shoppers were smart enough to give him a wide berth. As he walked, he listened in on the conversations going on around him. He needed information, and he needed it now. The Shinigami had been smart enough to give each of the run-away gods general knowledge of the history, language, and culture of the area, but there were still too many unknowns. In battle, unknowns lead to mistakes, and mistakes led to defeats. The soldier in him would not let Kratos rest until those gaps in information had been filled. To that end, market places were a great source as one could always count on some loose lipped person running around performing their daily errands.

While nothing he learned that day did more than solidify his overall knowledge this new world, one incident did cause him to raise an eyebrow. He was passing through a band of food merchants when he spotted a blond haired child stealing an apple from a nearby fruit vendor. It was not the act itself that caught his attention, for such a thing was not uncommon Sparta. Rather, it was that everyone nearby could surely see the crime being committed, yet no one attempted to stop the boy.

The blond child had looked around warily for a moment then put the apple back and walked away with sagged shoulders. It was as if he had wanted to be caught. Kratos was passing by the child, still watching him, when the kid's head came up, and their eyes met. At this, the child tensed, seemingly shocked, before he turned and quickly ran away. The Ghost of Sparta continued to watch him until he finally disappeared amidst the bustling crowd. With a grunt, Kratos made his way to the Green Dragon, making sure to file the event in his memory.

XXX

That night, like many others in Konoha, was a quiet one. Civilians and ninja alike were sleeping peacefully in their beds, except for the few unlucky shinobi that had been chosen for night patrol. This night found the former God of War gazing down upon the village from his perch on top of the Green Dragon inn where Athena and he were residing for the moment. With nothing to do cooped up in their small room, and unwilling to face the horrors his mind held again so soon, the warrior had left for the roof, hoping to find some form of distraction up there.

As he thought of Athena sleeping peacefully in her bed, Kratos felt his perpetually foul mood dissipate, though only slightly. He had not known the Goddess of Wisdom had such a colorful vocabulary, but apparently filling out the multitude of forms the gatekeepers had given them earlier that day was enough to bring it out. He would have helped, but they both knew that he was more likely to shred the forms in anger rather than complete them. Besides, they may be allies for the moment, but there was still bad blood between the two.

Athena had managed to redeem herself a little in his eyes by saving him and abandoning the other gods of Olympus for his sake, but that did little to erase what she had done in the past. She and the other gods strung him along for ten years, promising him freedom and salvation at the end of his service only to toss him aside once he had done their bloody work for them. It was within one of her temples that he had lost the only people he had ever loved, yet she had done nothing to halt Ares' schemes. These thoughts whirled around Kratos' mind, and as jis anger rose, his reflections took an even darker turn.

No god, former or not, could be trusted in his eyes. He would play Athena's and the Shinigami's game for now, but only until he decided to end it. It may turn out that neither of them had a hidden agenda, and they truly did wish to help him. However, Kratos was not naïve enough to fully believe that. If it did turn out the two deities were playing him for a fool, well, it wouldn't be the first time he killed a god.

Suddenly, a cry in the night roused Kratos from his ruminations. The Spartan quickly ignored it. This was not his home, so the various soldiers he had seen patrolling could deal with whatever it was. Returning to his thoughts, he was again stirred from them as the cry grew louder, and seemed to be heading in his direction. Annoyed at the disturbance, Kratos decided to see what or who was making the racket. If nothing else, it would help to distract the insomniac until morning.

XXX

A six-year old Naruto Uzumaki was running as fast as his short legs were able to carry him. His chested heaved in and out, trying desperately to supply his muscles with the oxygen needed to get away from the blank-faced men. Naruto silently berated himself for missing the 10 o'clock curfew of his orphanage.

Knowing from experience that the doors wouldn't open again until morning, he had gone to a nearby park and found a quiet bench to sleep on. He had been sleeping peacefully until a sharp pain in base of his neck woke him. Reaching back, he pulled out a needle almost as long as his entire hand and forearm that seemed to be covered in something wet. Then the grogginess hit him, and he blacked out.

When he came to, Naruto saw a man wearing a pure white mask on, tying the boy's hands together with rope. Crying out, Naruto kicked his feet, hitting the man in the groin. Naruto had then jumped up and began running away, untying the half-done knot around his hands as best he could with his teeth.

The three others who had been with the man, guarding him while he performed his task, were momentarily surprised. This was all the time Naruto needed to get away from the park. All four quickly gave chase, unwilling to fail the mission assigned to them by their leader. However, it proved difficult to corner the young blond once he reached the streets of the village, for he seemed to know every alley and back street like the back of his hand.

As he ran, Naruto cried out, hoping for any kind of help. He didn't know why he was being chased. All he knew was that being caught would not end well for him.

At first it was fairly easy to evade his pursuers because of his small stature and the countless hours he had spent wandering around Konoha, but it was futile. He was already beginning to tire, and the men were simply to fast, agile, and inexhaustible for Naruto to escape. Realizing that, he yelled and screamed even louder, hoping beyond hope that someone, anyone, would hear him and come to his rescue. Rounding a corner, Naruto abruptly fell to the ground after smacking right into a pair of muscular legs. Looking up, the little Uzumaki's eyes widened.

XXX

Kratos jumped down to the streets below, and headed straight towards the source of the noises. He had only been walking for a short time when he felt something plow into his leg. Looking down, he saw the blond child from the market earlier that day. Just as suddenly, three men with their faces obscured by blank masks appeared before him, and the boy scrambled behind him, cowering in his faint shadow. After a quick glance at the boy, the Ghost of Sparta turned his attention trio in front of him.

"What is going on here?" He questioned. Unconsciously, his muscles were already starting to loosen themselves up.

"Move aside foreigner; this matter does not concern you." One man, obviously the leader, replied in an emotionless voice.

"And if I do not?" Kratos responded, anger flooding through his body.

"We will make you." At this the leader's hand twitched, and the Spartan felt something pierce his lower back. With a roar he turned and drew one of his blades, swinging it as his attacker. The fourth man of the squad jumped back, easily getting out of range of the strike. However, he did not expect Kratos to let go of the sword. The Blade of Athena flew swiftly through the air until it buried itself in his stomach. Kratos grabbed onto the chain connecting him to his weapon and pulled it to the side, blood and guts falling to the ground as he curved it towards the front. The three there separated before the blade could cleave them all in half. They then began their own coordinated assault.

One man dashed to his left, drawing his tanto as he tried to slice through Kratos' upper thighs. The former god blocked with one of his swords then turned and kicked the man in the sternum, sending him soaring into a nearby building. Throwing both Blades of Athena behind him, Kratos forced the other two to abandon their attacks on his exposed back. He quickly spun his swords in a circle around to create a bit of a bit of space between him and the shinobi. Withdrawing the blades back to his hands, the one-time God of War prepared for the next offensive.

It never came, for flickering lights began to flood the streets. Windows were opened wide as people stuck their heads out to find the source of the commotion.

The leader, upon seeing this, was forced to order his squad to retreat. Their mission had been failed. Even if they did manage to kill the foreigner and grab the child, there were too many witnesses now. The Hokage would surely find out what happened, so their only option was to back off and return defeated. Together, he and the other uninjured subordinate grabbed their teammates and disappeared into the darkness.

With a grunt, the Ghost of Sparta sheathed his swords and stared at the spot the spot his opponents had previously occupied. Reaching behind his back, he pulled a small knife out of his body, tossing aside. Kratos picked the boy up and slung him over his shoulder. He would definitely have something more to talk with the Hokage about tomorrow morning than simply joining the village.

XXX

**Ok, hope you all like this newly revised chapter, and I will see you next time.**

_**Glock3bb**_


	3. Choices Part III

**I do not own the rights to Naruto or God of War, and that prick The Dark Void won't help me steal them.**

XXX

The next morning, Athena awoke to a queer sight. On the other side of the room was Kratos, standing almost protectively over the sleeping form of a small, blonde boy. The former goddess had little time to contemplate this strange spectacle, for as soon as he saw she had awoken, Kratos spoke to her gruffly.

"Hurry up and get ready. We're going to see the Hokage." Still half asleep, Athena nodded, questions about the child flying through her head.

XXX

She could not believe it. There was no way the fervent bundle of energy running around her, chattering a mile a minute, was the same peacefully sleeping child from earlier this morning. It took most of her focus just to keep track of the boy.

On the other hand, Athena had to admit it was a bit cute, and some of her questions had been answered. She gathered that Naruto had been attacked by four people before Kratos had come along and intervened; however, these answers just led to more questions. Why was Naruto attacked? Why had nobody else helped him, and for that matter, why did Kratos help him? Ever since the death of his wife and daughter, the Spartan had closed himself off to the world, becoming an even colder killer than he had been before. Such an image as Kratos the defender did not fit well with that of a man who had slaughtered thousands just to obtain the power to kill her brother. It could not have simply been his lust for battle that made Kratos enter the fight, otherwise, why would he have brought Naruto back to their room? Why did he seem so protective of the boy?

Athena's contemplations came to a halt when she realized they had entered the Hokage's tower. The threesome was soon greeted by a young secretary sitting at the main desk.

"Hello visitors. Can I help you with anything?" she greeted.

"We're here to see the Hokage." Athena quickly answered, not wanting Kratos' quick temper to become an issue.

"I'm sorry, public meetings with the Hokage do not start until ten o'clock. You are welcome t-"

"Kana!" Naruto quickly ran around the desk and jumped into the girl's lap, giving her a giant hug. To say the girl was shocked is an understatement.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?"

"The big, gray guy saved me from some bad men and then let me sleep in his bed!" Naruto said, as if it were the best thing in the world. Kana quickly schooled her fetchers and, after a glance at Kratos, said,

"I'll show you the way."

Now Athena was thoroughly intrigued. Not only had Kratos saved the boy, but Naruto seemed to be of at least some importance if the secretary's willingness to bend the rules upon his appearance and explanation was any indication. The group soon reached a door that Kana knocked on.

"Come in." A gravelly voice answered. When the four entered, it was a repeat performance of downstairs, with Naruto running up to an aged man behind a desk and giving him a big hug.

While this was going on, Athena examined the man who she supposed was the Hokage. He was an elderly man, far older than most Greeks lived to be. To be ruling at such an age would be considered a great accomplishment in the Aegean and is surely a testament to this man's skill. Athena also noted that once the surprise left his face, the Hokage looked down at Naruto lovingly as the two talked. She was again stirred from her musings when she heard Kana speak up.

"Naruto, I have a coupon for Ichiraku's I was saving for the next time you visited." Naruto's head whipped around before he practically dragged the poor girl out of the office, cheering the entire way.

"Ichiraku Ramen!" Once the two had left, the Hokage turned to the former gods, his caring look turned into that of a hardened warrior.

"Now, I wish to know who you are and how you met Naruto." Oddly enough it was Kratos who spoke up and, in his gruff manner, answered the question. As he listened, the Hokage's hardened face changed to a solemn one. When Kratos was finished, he fished a wooden pipe out of the depths of his white robes, lit it, and took a deep puff. "There were no markings or symbols anywhere on these men?"

"No, they all looked the same, including the blank masks they wore." The aged leader nodded before taking another puff.

"Thank you for the information and for protecting Naruto. We will be sure to look into this." At that, Kratos' reigned in anger exploded.

"A child is attacked in your village, and all you do is sit there and say you'll look into it!" He roared, slamming a fist down on the Hokage's desk. Athena hastily stepped between the two before Kratos could do anything else. When she separated them, she noticed the venomous look Kratos shot her before he stepped back and repressed his rage. To her eye, and his credit, the Fire Shadow did not appear shaken one bit.

"If you do that again Mr. Kratos, I will remove you from my office personally. I can tell you are angry, but this is a matter of my village. I will decide how to respond to this attack." The Hokage glared at the Ghost of Sparta.

"Now, you said that you came to this village wishing to join our ranks?" At Athena's nod he continued. "Then we might as well get that out of the way while you are here. There are two methods by which you may join this village. The first is to allow one of our Yamanaka clan members to enter your mind and confirm that your intentions are pure."

"My mind is my own, and I refuse to let anyone in it." Kratos spat out, seemingly still trying to control his temper. The Hokage carried on.

"That is understandable. Most who wish to join our shinobi ranks do not chose this option. Our minds are our final sanctuary after all. In that case, to join the village you will be placed on probationary teams and must successfully complete five D-rank missions and three C-rank missions. While you perform these missions, your teammates will be evaluating your skills and will report back to me with their thoughts. Should we deem your skills sufficient, you will be admitted into our forces at the appropriate level. Do you agree to this?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage." Athena answered for the both of them.

"Then after a few preliminary questions, you are free to go. Do you know what chakra is?" Seeing the confused looks of the once great deities, he sighed. "Chakra is the mixture of the spiritual and phyiscal energies that reside in the body. Shinobi use it to fuel the different jutsu we use in combat." In demonstration, he flashed his chakra and then made a few basic clones. Kratos and Athena were astounded.

"Magic." Athena whispered.

"Perhaps to some, but for ninja, it is an everyday affair. By your response, I'm guessing this is the first time you two have seen such a thing, and have never used chakra before." The Hokage said, not noticing the quick glance the two shared. "In that case, most of the other questions are redundant. Mr. Kratos, you will be on Probation Team 3 under Squad Leader Genma Shiranui. Meet them at twelve o'clock tomorrow at Training Ground 1 for your first mission. Mrs. Athena, you are on Probation Team 5 with Ebisu Ito. You will meet with your team in three days in front of this building. Basic shinobi gear will be provided for you, but any special equipment you desire must come out of your own pockets. Any questions? Very well, you are dismissed."

XXX

Sarutobi sat in his office, deep in thought. The two newcomers to Konoha had just left, leaving him to ponder the tidings they brought. He had known Danzo would make a move to obtain Naruto eventually, but he had not expected it to be so soon. Typically Danzo waited to abduct children after their first year in the academy, but it seemed the Root leader desired Naruto very much. This left the old Hokage in a bind. He could not move against Danzo, for he had next to no knowledge on this new Root he was sure the bastard had formed after the old one had been disbanded. The village did not have enough resources for him to send ninja on a wild goose chase, even more so when the goose knew exactly what they were doing.

On the same note, though, Danzo did not have the strength or numbers to openly defy the Hokage. Of that, he was sure. As such, it was a stalemate, each of them vying for political power, mustering their strength, and carefully monitoring the other, waiting for the perfect time to strike.

Now Danzo had made the first move. He needed to ensure Naruto was protected at all times, but who could he trust to do so? Danzo had Root members at all levels of shinobi, so he could not simply assign a guard to him. Those he could trust were too important to the village to be pulled away for such a thing and would draw suspicion from the other nations. Another way would be to have Naruto adopted, but everyone in Konoha had strings, and Danzo was a master puppeteer. What could he do?

Suddenly, a smile came to the aged man's face. That smile evolved into a chuckle, and then into full blown laughter. Gaining control of himself, the Hokage quickly sent for his three advisers. It was time for some politics.

XXX

Night had fallen, and two guards were dutifully patrolling the dark forest surrounding their camp. They know full well what repercussions would be if they were caught slacking.

Silently, a figure shrouded in shadows emerged from the blackness behind them. Racing towards the bandits, it quickly slit one man's throat with a large sword. Tossing the limp corpse aside, the shade proceeded to stab the other guard through the stomach with another. The shadow continued on through the perimeter of the camp, pausing for a moment at the sight of the main body. It growled menacingly and readied the twin swords in its hands.

Charging forward, the specter vaulted into the air and began to spin his blades by their chains to gather momentum. The bandits relaxing in front of him stood no chance as he completed his jump and brought the weapons crashing down onto the earth. Limbs were cleaved, bones shattered, and flesh seared as the blades struck in the center of the group, a plume of flames erupting out from them when they did. Recalling the pair of blades, he swiftly finished off any survivors as alarms began to sound in the background.

Straightening up from his grizzly work, he was greeted by the rest of the brigands that inhabited the clearing. There were a four score in all, well-armed and ready for bloodshed. An entire force of experienced cut-throats was now pitted against one lone man in the middle of their base. It was a massacre.

As one, they descended upon Kratos. With a mighty roar, he met their charge, his lust for battle taking over. One quick swing of his blades was enough to take down the entire first row of bandits. Kratos then slammed an elbow into the sternum of a bandit attacking his side, pulverizing the man's ribs. He pulled back his blades and sent them out again in rapid succession before unleashing another Plume of Prometheus into their midst. Seeing their opponent momentarily disarmed, the rouges surged forward, hoping to take down the fool. A flick of his wrists returned the blades to their master, shredding through any enemy unlucky enough to be in their way. Kratos pivoted and released the mythical swords from his grasp, causing them to whirl around and cut down the assailants that had closed in. One man had the sense to duck and was able to survive long enough to slice Kratos across the stomach with his blade. Kratos returned the favor by grabbing him by the throat and then removing his intestines from their resting place. The Ghost of Sparta tossed the disemboweled carcass to the side, sending it crashing into another group of charging bandits.

Sensing their master's injury, the Blades of Athena began to pour the energy they had feasted on from the bandits into Kratos' wound. It was a small part of the symbiosis between them and their wielder. The owner brought them battle and blood to gorge themselves upon, and in return, they healed the injuries such fights brought. It was through combat that the bond between swords and possessor grew, and of all those who had wielded them previously, Kratos was by far their favorite.

Recovered from his injury, Kratos once again began to butcher his foes. He tore through the bandits, ending life after life with every move. Caught up in the battle as he was, Kratos was barely able to dodge the massive tree-trunk of a club that had been swung at his exposed back.

Turning to face this new adversary, the Spartan saw a man even larger than himself with bulging muscles and a broad chest. His entire body was completely covered in strange, scaled armor. His head was covered by a similar helmet, and a demonic mask covered his face.

No pleasantries were exchanged as the two charged towards each other. The man swung down, attempting to crush the Ghost of Sparta, but a quick roll was enough to evade the attack and get behind the brute. Kratos was surprised when stuck out only for his swords glance off of the bizarre armor. He jumped back to avoid another club strike when a bandit was able to sneak in close enough and stab him in the thigh with a spear. This gave the rest of the bandits enough courage to attack as well including the large man who led them.

Having faltered from the stab, Kratos was unprepared for the onslaught but not for long. After receiving a few cuts and other wounds, he had had enough. He was the God of War, and he would not lose to these insignificant pests. Cutting down the next few attackers, he saw the leader in front of him, his club drawn back to smash Kratos into the ground once and for all. Instead of dodging, Kratos let loose a terrible roar and met the attack head on, his blades ablaze with his anger. He cleaved cleanly through the massive piece of wood and continued on to the giant himself. Leaping onto the man, Kratos plunged his blades deep into his foe's clavicles.

Here Kratos' wrath reached its peak. All of his fury and hate had surfaced and was seeking escape in any way possible. Then he felt it, a sharp tug in the back of his mind he had thought lost to him forever. Focusing all of his will on that pull, he allowed it to consume him and unleashed his rage.

Lightning coursed down from the sky, piercing Kratos' body and streaming out around him. Bodies were blackened and burned by the electricity. None could escape as Kratos cried out even louder, pouring more and more magic into the spell. In the middle of it all was the bandit leader. The cold fire raced through his body, slowly cooking him from the inside out. Soon, steam began to pour out from the man's orifices, and his muscular physique finally broke under the strain. In one ferocious moment, his carcass exploded outwards, and the bandit leader's liquified insides erupted into the sky, covering the area in gore.

Kratos stood silently in the middle of it all. He released his hold on the magic and gazed at the bloody dye blanketing the camp. As he stood there, his blades bleached with the blood of the bandits, he began to laugh.

This was where he belonged. He was a Spartan, born and bred for battle. War had been his home since the day he turned seven. Here he did not have to fear the terrors of his mind, or worry about the boy with bright blue eyes. Here, there was only kill or be killed.

Here, he was free.

XXX

At the edge of the camp, Genma Shiranui watched the newest member to his team. One of the other chunin with him spoke up softly.

"Sir, I don't think we have to do any of the other missions."

XXX

**Well, that's another chapter down. Any ways, probably one more chapter of intro stuff, and then we get into the real meat of the story, hehehe. Oh, do we have some plans. See you all next time.**

**Glock3bb, The Dark Void**


	4. Choices Part IV

**I have will never own Naruto, just like how I will never beat The Dark Void at Poker or Chess.**

**Fucking emotionless geniuses.**

XXX

Letting out a content sigh, Athena wiped her brow and straightened up from her work. This was her fourth D-rank mission while on probation, and she had to say she was enjoying them. She had done many things she was not proud of during her tenure as a goddess, so she saw this as a good way to start repaying for her misdeeds. A meagerstart, but a start none the less.

Glancing over, Athena saw her two teammates busy repairing the fence surrounding the garden they were in while she weeded. Behind her, on the porch, stood the old lady who had requested the mission and her squad leader Ebisu. Athena returned to her work and smiled. At first she had been put off by the man's personality but soon found he was a truly skilled teacher.

Athena had worked diligently since the Hokage's demonstration to discover what the link was between magic and chakra. However, the documents she had access to as a broke foreigner were extremely limited. Her research became even more critical after Kratos returned from his first mission.

The news that Kratos had awakened the piece of Poseidon's rage still within him left Athena torn. She was glad Kratos had recovered one of his powers, as too many things had been taken from the man in his life. On the other hand, the fact these people considered such a spell commonplace disturbed her greatly, so she had devoted herself even more to her self-appointed task.

It was at this time she approached Ebisu out of desperation. At first she had simply wanted to know where to find information on chakra. Instead, the man began tutoring her himself in the basics of chakra and the theory behind it. When she asked why he was doing so, he simply said such knowledge was common throughout the Elemental Nations. If she was trying to learn about it, she might as well learn it right, and learn she did, at a frightening pace under his tutelage. The fact she was once the Goddess of Wisdom probably helped with this part. Armed her new knowledge, and some input from Kratos on the matter, she came to the conclusion that magic and chakra were, if not the same thing, at least extremely similar.

"Great job, team. We will meet again tomorrow at the same time." Ebisu's dismissal aroused Athena from her thoughts. The old woman's thanks while they were leaving left a warm feeling in the former goddess' heart. She began walking towards the hotel Kratos and her were staying in for the time being but then turned and began walking to the market district. Athena had something particular in mind to find even if she might not be able to buy it right now on the halved pay probationary shinobi got.

"Pretty Lady!" Suddenly, Athena felt something crash into her and latch itself onto her chest. Looking down, she saw a familiar mess of spiky blonde hair.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?"

"The orphanage took us on a field trip today. We were on our way back when I saw you."

"Won't the people in charge be looking for you?"

"Nah, they let me do what I want, and I don't put bugs in there beds." Naruto said with a grin. "Hey, where's Grey Guy at?" She barely contained a snort at the name Naruto had come up with for Kratos.

"He's off on one of the missions we need to do in order to join your village." Naruto began to pout when he was told this, but Athena could only giggle at the sight, especially since he tried to do so while still clinging to her.

"I'll tell you what, Naruto. Since Kratos isn't here, how would you like to join me while I look for something special?" He nodded enthusiastically, but still did not let go of her. After a small sigh and smile, she placed her arms around him so he would not fall and set off. As they walked, Naruto told her about his day, nearly whacking her in the face a couple of times with his exaggerated gestures. They soon found their destination, a shinobi equipment store.

XXX

Naruto ogled in amazement at the sights around him. He had wandered off while The Pretty Lady was talking to the large man behind the counter, and this place was awesome! There were so many cool weapons all jam-packed onto the walls and shelves, many of which were taller than him! He just had to get the Old Man to come here and beg to buy one of them for him. He always was a sucker for the puppy-dog. Then he could have an awesome weapon for when he started the academy and kicked everyone else's butt. The academy instructors would see how sweet he was and would have to let him graduate early. He would become a world famous ninja and the youngest Hokage ever chosen. It would be total-

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Sure enough, Naruto had been about to grab the handle of one of the many swords lining the store, its blade longer than he was tall. Whipping around, Naruto saw a girl about his age, hands planted firmly on her hips. She was wearing pink khaki pants and a yellow t-shirt with her brown hair pulled up in two buns. He stuck his tongue out and blew a quick raspberry at her before answering.

"You're just a stupid girl. What would you know about cool ninja stuff like this?"

"Hey! I'm in the academy already. I bet I know way more than you do."

"Oh yeah, well I'm going to enter it next year, and I'll do way better than you ever could."

"Yeah right. They wouldn't even let a dumb doody-head like you in."

"You're the doody-head."

"No, you."

"NO, YOU."

The two charged and tackled each other to the ground, yelling at the top of their longs. They began rolling around, kicking and punching as best as six and seven year old children could. Suddenly two pairs of hands appeared and pulled them apart. Naruto looked up and saw the Pretty Lady, now with an old-looking spear on her back.

"What are you doing Naruto?" The blond pointed an accusing finger at the girl

"She started it. I just wanted to hold that sword for a little bit." Athena smirked.

"After I told you not to touch anything?" Naruto had the grace to blush and look sheepishly down at the ground. The girl started to laugh at him before the man from the counter lightly cuffed her on the back of the head and scolded her.

"Tenten, I've told you how many times not to fight with other kids." Tenten too looked down at the ground and kicked her feet.

"Sorry, Uncle."

"I'm apologize for any trouble my niece has caused. She can be a bit of a handful at times." The man said, looking back at Athena.

"It's no problem at all. Come along Naruto." With that the two left the store and began walking down the crowded streets holding each other's hands.

"So Naruto, now that we've gone to where I wanted, is there any place you want to go before I take you back to the orphanage?" Naruto looked up at the sky, putting his thinking face on. The first place he thought of was Ichiraku's, but he had just been there a few days ago with Kana. He puzzled over the question as they walked, trying to think of somewhere to go. A smile began to form on his face as he looked around before pulling Athena in a new direction. It would be perfect.

XXX

Athena had to admit she was curious. When Naruto had told her he wanted to go to "the park", she had at first been confused. His explanation had not helped, so now she was surprised at the sight before her. There were many wooden and metal devices with children playing on them, laughing while their parents watched or even sometimes joined in with the merrymaking. In all her time as a goddess, she had never seen such a place. Naruto quickly led her over to one such contraption that was two pairs of metal poles with a crossbeam, and chains hanging down in between with seats. He called it a "swing" and got on one of them. She stood there wondering what to before he told her to push him. Athena did so and began to smile at his cries of "Higher!" and "Faster!". Queerly, the other parents seemed to quickly leave with their children once they got there, but she thought nothing of it.

After a while, Naruto jumped of the swing and brought her to the slide. Once again, the other parents left, but this time Athena took notice. What caught her attention the most was that while most of them gave her a brief glance, whether because of her looks or strange garb she could not tell, every one of them seemed to be trying their hardest to not look at Naruto. It was as if to them, he did not exist. She would make sure to ask about this.

The two continued to play together, laughing and smiling the entire time. After what seemed to be too short of time, the sun began to set, and they had to leave. Athena brought him back to the orphanage and returned to the hotel. She quietly crawled into her bed and faded off to sleep. Her final thought as she did so was that she could now see why Kratos helped him.

XXX

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk smoking his pipe, lost in thought. A light knock came upon his door and Kana stuck her head in.

"Lord Hokage, Advisers Koharu and Homura, and Mr. Danzo are here."

"Thank you, Kana. Please send them in." The door opened wide and in entered his old teammates and rival. As they did so, Hiruzen studied each of them carefully. Danzo was, of course, a blank slate, not letting anything slip even though Sarutobi was sure he knew what this was about. Homura was his old, apathetic self, and Koharu seemed agitated. His heart went out to her, as it was hard to put one's job first when your granddaughter is severely sick. His teammates took a seat across from him, while Danzo chose to stand in a far corner. Clearing his throat, the Hokage began.

"One week ago, four individuals attempted to kidnap one Naruto Uzumaki. As of now the kidnappers remain unidentified and at large. There have been no subsequent attempts or any unusual activity that can be linked to them. I believe the current crisis is over but the issue of further attempts prevails. I have called you here to review my plan to resolve this issue and hear your opinions." At that, Sarutobi took out three sealed envelopes and handed them each one. They quickly opened them and committed the contents to memory before proceeding to burn the papers on the spot. "Are there any questions?"

"Who do you have currently guarding the boy?" Homura asked.

"Right now Kakashi and Tenzou are guarding him, trading off every eight hours. As you know, they are two of our top solo ANBU, and as such, relegating them to such a task for an extended period would drastically hurt our income and reputation." The elderly man turned towards Danzo. "I leave the task of choosing the boy's permanent guards to you Danzo, for you know more about the individuals in our ANBU than anyone else. I trust you will choose the best people for this task." There was a flash of surprise then anger on the dark haired man's face, but both were quickly squashed.

"There is absolutely no information on who ordered the act?" Koharu interceded.

"No, from the description I received from an eye-witness, and from investigations by myself and the heads of the T&I department, there were no identifying features on their bodies or in any of the tactics they employed. There have also been no intelligence leaks to speak of."

"The report mentioned that the boy felt groggy and passed out for a few minutes, which suggests either a tranquilizer or a type of poison. Has the boy's blood been examined?" Danzo questioned from his corner.

"Yes, but unfortunately, it seems that the same thing preventing the substance in question from working on him also breaks it down completely, so no traces could be found in his system. We will be unable to identify where it came from." Sarutobi answered with a mental smirk. He could see Danzo's game. He not only wanted to know fully why his attempt failed, but also whether it could be linked in any way back to him, though he doubted the war hawk was foolish enough to have used any local toxin.

"Have you considered the possibility of this being an internal attack?" The unspoken question hung in the air. Hiruzen once again cleared his throat.

"Yes, which makes the two I have chosen more appealing. They have no allegiance to any ne in the village having only just arrived here." Danzo frowned at this.

"Should we so readily hand over our greatest weapon to these strangers?" Koharu and Homura looked at each other and nodded.

"We agree with the Hokage." Koharu answered. "The fact remains that these two seem to have appeared out of thin air, and we have no information on them whatsoever. Even if they were sleeper agents, no village would be foolish enough to send them in with no back story at all. It goes against every known rule of espionage. Also, if they were to show up to another village claiming to have either intelligence on, or the Kyuubi jinchuuriki himself, they are more likely to be kicked out or executed on the spot because of their own paranoia about spies." Homura shook his head in agreement throughout the speech.

"Very well then. As there are no further objections, the plan will be executed as written. I shall inform Kratos and Athena of our decision when they have finished their entry requirements. It will then be up to them to decide. You are dismissed."

XXX

Kratos stood alone once again on the roof of their hotel. Both gods had finished their probation and tomorrow their fates would be revealed. But there was a larger shadow looming than this. He clenched his teeth, hands balling into fists. Why now? Why him? His soul was stained red, his skin paled by his crimes. All he knew now was death as nothing else remained to live for. No child deserved such a fate as this.

And yet, he found himself wanting. Ever since he had come to this village, he had begun to open up again. It wasn't the people or the missions. No, it was that boy. Those terrified eyes of a child so familiar to him. He had done something to him, made him want to take up this role again.

A sharp pain lanced through Kratos' mind, and he fell to his knees. His hands tore at his head in pain. No, it had been so long since the last episode. This could not be happening!

Memories rose up and swept Kratos away in their tide. He summoned all his strength, struggling to remain on the surface, but he could feel himself slipping deeper and deeper into the depths. Finally his resolve broke, and he was consumed in the flood.

He thrashed about on the roof with his mouth open in a silent scream. His fingernails bit deeply into the stone, desperately trying to find a purchase to hang onto. His blades carved into his back, shearing skin and muscle only to be repaired by his own blood then ripped open again. Kratos was drowning in the sinful sea of his past.

It stopped. Kratos let out a slow, rattling breath. He could still feel the memories but only at the edge of his mind now. It was as if he had entered the eye of the storm and a calm began to spread over his body, relaxing every part of him. Soon his entire being, flesh and soul, was at peace.

Kratos laid there unmoving, unable to believe. He had been saved. Slowly, he allowed his eyes to open just a crack. Upon his chest sat two doves, one fully grown and the other barely old enough to fly. Each was pure white, but for a crimson red taint on their breasts. Kratos carefully reached up, taking care not to startle his saviors. He began gently to stroke them from head to tail.

Lysandra used to raise doves such as these at their home so long ago. He could still see her face when he brought her the first two for her birthday. Such joy she had felt, and he was the reason why. He remembered catching Calliope sneaking out of bed once again to try and play with them while everyone else was fast asleep. She had been so excited when the first egg hatched, doting endlessly over the newborn chick. He remembered all of this, all the happy times his family had had, for the first time in years. Kratos continued to caress each dove, and he began to understand.

"Is this you Lysandra, Calliope? Is this your way of showing you forgive me?"

The doves made no response except to huddle closer into his hand. A wave of relief washed over Kratos. It was as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. All the years he had toiled, all the sweat and blood he had spilled to cleanse himself. Now he had received the forgiveness he most sought.

But could he forgive himself? That was the question he did not think he would ever be able to answer.

Kratos shook his head as his eyes steeled. He was being ridiculous. There was no room for doubt in a Spartan's mind. He had never worried about such things before. If the dead could move on, so could he. He had always known, deep in his heart, that this would never go away. But now Kratos had seen clearly. He had been given a second chance to move past it. Athena, the Shinigami, and the Hokage had given it to him, and by the gods he would do so.

The doves flew up, soaring towards the night sky as the reborn God of War rose up. He watched them go then turned and walked back into the hotel. A new chapter in his life was about to begin, and the start was the most important step.

XXX

High above Konoha, a pale purple hand stretched out, and the two doves landed upon it softly. The Shinigami gave a toothy smile while all three slowly faded into the night.

"**Be at peace Ghost of Sparta. I expect great things from your family."**

XXX

Naruto sat in the waiting room of the Hokage tower, literally bouncing in his seat. This was the best month ever! First he gets saved from the bad men by Grey Guy. Then meets the Pretty Lady and gets to see Kana and the Old Man. He got to play with the Pretty Lady in the park, and now Kana had come to the orphanage and said that Gramps had a surprise for him. He couldn't wait!

After what felt like forever, Kana took him to Old Man's office. Inside he three other old people, along with Pretty Lady and Grey Guy. Before he could even speak, Gramps interrupted him.

"Naruto, I would like for you to meet your new parents."

XXX

Damn that Sarutobi. Damn him to hell!

Danzo sat alone on his throne, brooding, hands clasped together in his lap. Not only had Root failed to obtain the Nine-tails, but because of the foreigners, Hiruzen was able to place him with a family, making it harder for him to make another attempt. Worse than that, he was in charge of protecting him. Should the boy go missing it would be on his head. Depending on the circumstances, Sarutobi could go so far as to have him executed for gross incompetence. His hands were bound. The power of a jinchuuriki was beyond his grasp now.

It mattered little in the end, he supposed. He would simply have to continue doing what he had been before. Slowly his strength, both politically and militarily, would continue to grow. Eventually, he would rest the title of Hokage from that fool and lead Konoha to its rightful place at the top of the shinobi world. His eyes flashed a cruel mirth in them as he opened two recently created files his men had copied. These two will be perfect additions to his forces.

XXX

**Another chapter done. **

**Have a great Thanksgiving and don't be an asshole on Black Friday. See ya.**

_**Glock3bb, The Dark Void**_


	5. Days Go By

**I do not own Naruto or God of War. Glock3bb only owns them in her delusions of grandeur.**

XXX

"Get up."

Naruto lay on his back, panting for breath. Every muscle in his body screamed for a break, but he knew it would only be worse for him if he stayed down. Slowly, he rolled over onto his stomach and began rising to his feet. Gelatin legs wobbled precariously as he got into his fighting stance. The next moment found him gasping for breath, folded over the knee in his gut.

"You are letting weariness distract you. Never lose focus in battle."

Once again on the ground, Naruto looked up at his father. Had it really already been a year and a half since that day? He was still trying to wrap his head around the idea. He had a family now. Yeah, Dad had been running him into the ground for the last six months, his mom seemed to have a seventh sense whenever he was putting together a prank, and they were living in an extremely tiny apartment until they got afford to rent bigger one, but he was still far happier than he could ever remember being.

This time, standing up proved to be the final straw for his body. His legs gave out underneath him, and Naruto fell back onto the ground. His dad relaxed his stance and tossed a leather canteen over to him.

"That's enough. Take a quick rest and get ready so Athena can take you to school."

That was another weird thing about his family. They never talked about it, but he could tell his parents didn't get along very well. Mom was nice enough to Dad, but Dad seemed to dislike her a lot. He could not remember a single time the two had spent more than five minutes alone together. He never saw anyone else's parents act like the way his did.

Oh well, not much he could do about it. He knew they loved him, and that was all that mattered.

"We will continue when you get back."

Even if his Dad was a giant jerk.

XXX

Kratos walked stiffly behind the caravan his squad had been assigned to guard for their next mission. A layer of late fall frost covered the nearby grass and leaves in the road side ditches, the trees having long since shed their spring time growths.

He hated protecting these soft dignitaries such as his current clients, but apparently this one had heard of the two new comers to Konoha and requested them personally. Athena was at the head where said charges were, for she was the most well-mannered of the group. With them were his squad leader Genma and another shinobi from Athena's squad he did not know personally. Everything had been routine so far, but in his gut, he could feel something was going to happen.

About an hour later that feeling finally came to fruition. The ground beneath Kratos rumbled, and a pair of hands sprouted up from underneath him, attempting to grab his legs. Kratos leaped into the air and was able to avoid the ambush. From his vantage point, he saw the others were already engaged in combat as well, each with a single assailant. His enemy had fully emerged from the ground by now and began quickly going through a series of hand signs. Kratos drew the Blades of Athena from his back just as his opponent finished his next jutsu.

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bomb!"

Instead of taking attack head on, Kratos flicked his wrist, embedding one sword into a nearby wagon and used that as an anchor to pull himself out of danger. Contorting his body around in midair, he then coiled his feet against the wooden cart and sprung away. The rouge shinobi could not cancel the technique in time and caught the full brunt of Kratos' shoulder slamming directly into him. He sailed through the air, finally crashing to the ground when the back of his head smashed into one of the thick lower branches of nearby tree. The Ghost of Sparta quickly made his way over to the surprisingly still conscious, yet dazed ninja and quickly severed his head from his body, finishing the job.

Leaving the corpse behind, Kratos ran towards the front of the convoy where the sounds of battle could still be heard. Once there, he found Athena fighting off another male ninja, wielding her naginata effortlessly. Genma was nearby watching, but forced to stay back and guard the client in case there were any other attackers waiting in the tree line. Kratos took up position in between the two, able to assist either one should the need arise. The last squad member was nowhere to be found.

His attention was once again drawn towards the fight. The former goddess was in front of him for the most part, trying to prevent her adversary from simply slipping past her to his target. Athena had the advantage of reach over the kunai the missing nin was using, but the size of her weapon encumbered her whenever her foe closed the distance. To his credit, the man seemed to be very skilled, avoiding many killing blows at the very last second.

One such attack finally connected and sealed the man's fate. A downward stroke from her spear cut him deeply across the chest, and he leaped backwards, wincing in pain. Her right side dipped just slightly at the end of the strike, giving Kratos all the opening he needed. He brought his arm up, focusing his chakra. Lightning crackled around his hand, quickly growing in intensity before shooting forward as he threw the thunderbolt. The deadly missile sailed through the air, flying mere centimeters away from Athena's head, almost hitting her instead. But it continued on, colliding with the missing-nin right above the heart. He was dead before his feet touched the ground.

The deed done, Kratos began walking back to his post in the rear, only to be stopped by Genma appearing in front of him, blocking his path.

"What the hell was that Kratos?"He yelled, "You almost killed Athena with that stunt."

The demigod snorted and roughly shoved past his team leader.

"She would not be the first."

XXX

Two men stood across from each other in a clearing surrounded by trees, the grass at their feet softly swaying in the light summer breeze. Each of their bodies was relaxed yet ready to spring into action at any moment. Seconds passed like hours as they waited, neither willing to make the first move.

With a burst of speed, one man shot forward, opening the clash with a devastating spinning kick to his opponents left side. Instead of dodging, the second man braced himself and caught the attacking leg in the crux of his armpit. Using the other man's momentum against him, the second man continued to spin and pulled on the leg, intending to smash the first man into the ground. Seeing this, the initiator planted his other foot on the second's chest and used it as a spring board to shove off from and break free. The two separated and set up in almost the exact same starting positions.

Kratos breathed heavily. The sweat on his brow glistened in the bright midday sun. He had been fighting practically nonstop for nigh on three hours. His opponent was one of the most skilled hand-to-hand combatants he had ever met. He could feel the bruises on his body, new ones already forming on his side from the last exchange.

After the briefest of pauses, the two were at it again with Kratos lunging forward first. Feigning an uppercut, he instead threw a straight punch at the man's chest. It was batted to the side, but this left his opponent open to a leg sweep. The subsequent elbow drop was avoided as the other man was able to transform his fall into a cartwheel.

Undeterred, Kratos quickly shot up and charged once more, hoping to keep on the pressure. He closed fast enough that the person was forced to stop and protect himself from the coming onslaught. And so began a bout of intense in fighting. Blow for blow they traded, Kratos' durability and brutality against his opponents speed and finesse.

Hay maker, block, low kick, dodge, counter, punch to the liver, batted away, round house punch, grabbed, pull off balance, knee to the chin, spin, blow to the left kidney, backhand, feint, strike to the jaw. On and on it continued, both taking as much as they gave, always looking for that one crucial mistake.

Then Kratos found it. For one instant his foe's defense was to spread out, and he was scarcely off balance, but it was all the once God of War needed. Gray hands sprung forward, straight through the gap in the guard and grabbed the man's head. A bone-jarring crack rang out when Kratos delivered a pulverizing headbutt.

Silence reigned as the last echoes of the final attack slowly faded away. He had done it. He had finally done it. He had beaten that damn bastard.

"A most youthful spar my friend! Your flames of youth are certainly burning brightly today!" Kratos would have sighed had he not still been trying to catch his breath.

"I should have known that wouldn't keep you down for long." Indeed, Might Gai was already back on his feet and in his nice guy pose, seeming not to notice the trickles of blood running down his face.

"Yes, my most youthful haircut does a wonderful job protecting me from such blows! I believe this youthful win puts the score at thirty-eight to fifty-four in my favor!" An acknowledging grunt was the only response he received.

How in the name of Hades had he ever become friends with this strange man? He was loud, obnoxious, wore that horrible outfit, and constantly went on about youth. In short, he was the exact opposite of Kratos. Not to mention he could consistently beat him in a taijutsu spar.

But perhaps those were the reasons why. It was refreshing for him to be around someone who had seen some of the worst the world had to offer and still be able to smile all the time. Someone who could distract him, even if for only little while with their up-beat attitude. However it happened, and why, Might Gai had become his first true comrade in this strange, new world.

XXX

The Third Hokage sat calmly at his desk listening to the latest mission report, smoke slowly rising from his pipe.

"Hmm, at least the mission was a success and no one was badly injured. Now tell me you two, what do you think about our newest recruits?"

In front of him stood on Genma _Shiranui and Ebisu Ito , a haggard look cemented on both their faces. Genma took a deep breath and let it out in a long, slow sigh before he began._

_"First off, never put them both on the same team ever again. Kratos almost always ignores what Athena says, and as you heard in my report, he has little to no concern for her well-being. She, on the other hand, hardly ever speaks to him directly, and when she does it sounds as if she is trying to apologize for something. She also dislikes being alone for him for long periods of time, like she's afraid he would murder her on the spot." A concerned look crossed Sarutobi's face._

_"I had hoped after all this time they would have been able to work this out. Are you any closer to knowing why they are like this?" Ebisu shook his head_

_"No, my Lord. They are both very tight-lipped about it, just like with everything else about their past. As close as I can tell, something bad happened a long time ago between the two and they both, at least partially, blame Athena for it." The Hokage leaned back in his chair, letting a stream of gray pour from his mouth._

_"This will be noted for future reference. Now, what of your recommendations?"_

_"Athena is a brilliant shinobi to put it simply. She could take on any Nara in a game of shogi and stand a good chance of winning. Her genjutsu is superb and her skill with that naginata is terrifying. Her taijutsu is incredibly well honed as well. A bit more experience and I would definitely recommend for her to take the jounin exams." Hiruzen nodded in agreement._

_"Kratos?" Genma paused for a moment to gather his thoughts._

_"Kratos is quick, brutal, and efficient. He follows his gut, which is almost always right. He wields those swords of his like they are a part of him. His strength and durability are insane. Few people can stand up to him in a straight taijutsu match. His genjutsu is only passable though. Oh, and his lightning manipulation is like none I've ever seen before."_

_"Did you able to find out if this might be a Kekkai Genkai?"_

_"No, just like Ebisu said, they don't like discussing their life before they got here. Even more so when it comes to their families' histories. But no matter the reason, he is a monster on the battlefield."_

_"I sense there is more you wish to say." The response was something between a growl and a sigh._

_"Where do I begin? He doesn't care about his teammates unless they somehow prove themselves to him in some way only he knows. Even after doing so, he only tolerates their presence. He has little to no tact, even on diplomatic missions. He can be extremely rash and is overly violent when angered. The words 'collateral damage' mean nothing to him. To top it all off, he has the shortest temper of anyone I have ever met." Genma ended, trying to regain the air lost in his rant._

_"So what is your verdict?" Again, the jounin paused, this time longer than the last._

_"Same as Athena, wait a little longer and then unleash him on the jounin exams."_

XXX

"Gahhh!" A ten-year old Naruto raged in frustration, about ready to rip his hair out. "Stupid Iruka with his stupid homework about stupid history that happened a stupid long time ago!" He got up from his desk and flopped down on his bed a few feet away, grumbling the entire time. Rolling onto his back, Naruto looked about his new room. Most of the space was taken up by his desk, dresser and bed. Other than those, there was not much else in the tiny living space. His family had moved out of their old apartment and into a new house about seven months ago once Mom and Dad had saved up enough money.

It was a small, white house on the outskirts of Konoha, a short run away from the western main gate. His mother called it a split-level if he remembers correctly. There were few decorations inside or out. It had the bare necessities, and he liked it that way. It had a kitchen, one bathroom, a basement for storage, and two bedrooms upstairs, one for him and his mom each. Dad never slept, or at least, not that he had seen. He asked mom about that, but she seemed hesitant to answer any of his queries.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Athena called from downstairs.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just having some trouble with my homework."

"Do you wish for any help?"

"Sure."

"Very well, I'll be up in a few minutes."

His mom came in, and Naruto got up and walked over to his desk. Athena knelt down beside him to examine the problems. As he got back to work with his mom's guidance, Naruto could not help but begin to smile. He didn't know why, but learning was always easier when she was around. There was simply something about her that made him feel smarter, as if she broke down the walls in the way of him remembering the information. He liked it.

Other kids always talked about how cool or uncool their moms were, but as far as he was concerned, she was the best one ever. She was smart, funny, strong, beautiful, and a great cook. She was the best mother anyone could hope for as far as he was concerned.

XXX

"Get back here Naruto! I just want to play."

"No you don't, you want to hurt me with sharp, pointy things!"

"That's what I said!"

Naruto ran for his life around the playground of the Academy, dodging the random kunai being thrown at him. Looking back, he saw that Tenten was steadily gaining on him, a fire in her eyes. This quick look proved to be his undoing.

His head turned backwards, he did not see the tree root rising slightly out of the ground in front of him , and as such, his left foot snagged on it and sent him tumbling to the dirt. In a flash Tenten was on top of him, knife poised and Naruto appropriately sweating bullets.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Naruto continued to apologize while Tenten simply stayed in the same position, savoring the moment. Finally she lowered her kunai and put a finger to her chin.

"Hmm, OK, I'll forgive you." Naruto let out a sigh of relief. She got off of him and offered a hand up.

"Phew, I thought you were going to kill me for that. I wish I had graduated early so we could be on the same team, but you know I suck at bunshins." Tenten quirked an eyebrow at him.

"You thought I was mad about that? I mean, sure I was annoyed when you told me, but its not like it wasn't expected. I can probably count the number of kids who graduated early on one hand." Naruto gaped at her and slowly raised a finger to point at her.

"So you're telling me that I was running for my life because I didn't notice you got your hair cut?" The girl nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Are you crazy?! Tenten, you were your hair up in buns all the time. You're wearing it like that now! How am I supposed to know if it looks any different?" At this Tenten blushed and looked down at the ground sheepishly.

"I don't know why it matters to you so much, anyways. It's just hair." Naruto said. "Besides, if it weren't for all the pink you wore, I'd swear you were a guy."

Silence reigned, and the air around Naruto became deathly cold.

"**Naaarrrrruuuutooooooo!**"

"Uh-oh."

XXX

"Naruto Uzumaki." There it was. It was finally his turn to perform the final portion of the gennin exams. His kawarmi and henge had been great, his taijutsu almost the best in the class, and he had known enough to barely squeak by on the written portion. So now, as long as he did not completely bomb this, he should pass. Of course, this being the bunshin jutsu, that was always a possibility with him.

In the exam room, his teachers, Iruka and Mizuki, sat behind a desk waiting for him. Iruka was his favorite by far. Sure he was a little harsh at first, but eventually he lightened up for the most part, most after realizing nothing could break Naruto's prankster streak. Plus he occasionally took him out for ramen. He snickered a little in his head, he could still remember Iruka's face after the first time he treated him. His parents had become perturbed when he didn't come home right after the Academy let out. Then they were furious when they found out his sensei had taken their seven year old boy out to dinner. Man, his parents were overprotective. Of course, that whole event led to another fight between them over his training, but he just liked to ignore that part.

Mizuki was okay in his book. He wasn't horrible towards Naruto, nor was he overly fond. Mizuki just treated him like he did the rest of the kids.

"Naruto, pay attention." The blond shook his head to rid him self of any other stray thoughts. He would need to put every ounce of focus he had into this task. "All right, you should know the drill by now." Naruto grinned at Iruka bashfully and rubbed the back of his neck, the memories of his last two attempts of taking this test while trying to graduate early. Taking a slow breath to center himself, Naruto began to mold his chakra. Plumes of smoke enveloped him and revealed with their dispersion four clones. Iruka stared intently at the replicas before finally a smile broke out on his face.

"They're not the best, but I think they're good enough for you to pass this part."

"Are you sure Iruka?" Mizuki questioned, "While he has shown dramatic improvement, he is still one off from the requirement, and each one has a fairly distinct flaw an experienced shinobi would pick up on in a second."

"You're right, but he did well enough on the other tests that it will help make up for those facts. Also, we both know his only issue is chakra control, which his jounin sensei can help him work on. It's not worth a whole year back in the Academy." Mizuki frowned slightly, before he to broke out in a grin.

"Then congratulations, Naruto Uzumaki, on passing the genin exams."

XXX

Naruto happily sat on the swing behind the Academy, sporting a grin and a shiny new headband. In front of him, parents or relatives were coming to pick up the others in his class, consoling or praising them. His parents were both out on missions, but he knew they would be proud of him. That meant he could just stay here swing away the time until he decided to go home.

"Hey, isn't that the kid who-?"

"Yeah, that's him. I heard they actually let him pass."

"What? He'll be a danger to everyone on his team."

"I know. how do we know he can keep that thing under control?"

"Shh, we're not supposed to talk about it."

Naruto flinched slightly. No matter how much time passed, the whispers and looks still hurt, but he was used to pushing them to the back of his mind by now. His mood brightened slightly when he saw someone exit the building.

"Hey, Mizuki-sensei!" Mizuki looked around and caught sight of the boy waving his arm and walked over to greet him.

"Hey, Naruto. No hard feelings about earlier?"

"Nah, I know you just don't want your favorite blond trouble-maker to become a pin-cushion on his first mission." Naruto responded cheekily. Mizuki put on a thinking face, before shaking his head.

"No, that definitely wasn't the reason." He teased with a smirk. Naruto chuckled but stopped when he noticed his former teacher trade the smirk for a frown.

"Something wrong sensei?" He didn't answer at first, a war seemingly raging in his mind.

"No...it's just..Argh, god damn it." The man spat, punching the nearby tree in frustration.

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you. That's the most frustrating part. But you deserve to know..." he trailed off, hands clenching again and again into fists. Naruto was now more confused than ever.

"Sensei, I don't understand." But the teacher was talking more to himself now than Naruto. Suddenly, his face froze then knelt down quickly and grabbed Naruto by the shoulders.

"I can't tell you, but I can show you where the answer is."

"Mizu-"

"Naruto," He interrupted sternly, "do you want to know why you were always alone?" Naruto was now frozen too, his mind trying to catch up.

"What?"

"Do you want to know why everyone in the village ignores you, why they shun you and refuse to acknowledge you. Do you want to know why they keep the other kids away from you?" His heart was now pounding in his chest. His whole life he had been searching for exactly that. After he had been adopted, those questions had sank to the back corner of his mind, only to resurface every now and again. And now, finally, someone was willing to show him the answers he needed. He gulped, his whole body shivering as he let out a barely audible,

"Yes."

**This is The Dark Void speaking. As much as I hate doing these, an author's note is necessary. It does not help Glock3bb is blackmailing me into this as well. Hmph, the benefits of having a lifelong friend.**

**We have finally made it to canon, and we would like to thank you all for your patience. Secondly, I would like to apologize for the wait. There has been much going on in our lives right now, combined that with the fact I have been finishing up the outlines for my own stories, which has led to a longer interlude than we intended. I cannot say this will never happen again, only that we are sorry for any disgruntlement.**

**Farewell for now,**

_**The Dark Void.**_


	6. Genin Part I

**(Insert witty comment about how neither I nor The Dark Void own Naruto or God of War.)**

XXX

Naruto sat alone in a forest clearing, a large scroll slightly unraveled before him, reading intently. It had been easy to take the scroll from the Old Man's office. He didn't even have to follow Mizuki's instructions since it had already been out on his desk. All he did was get Kana to let him go up, tie the scroll to his back, and sneak out.

Once he got to the meeting place, he tried to wait like sensei told him to, but he just couldn't stop himself when the answer was so close. So far it had eluded him though, as all he found were jutsu far beyond his skill level.

A rustling of leaves made the blonde pause his search and look around. Behind him Mizuki landed crouched, two large shuriken on his back.

"Sorry I'm late Naruto, I got held up on guard duty. Keep looking, I have to get some supplies out and then I can help." Naruto nodded and went back to fervently searching. A short time later, he was once again drawn from his task by a distinct whirling sound. Acting on instinct, he dove to the right, stifling a scream as a familiar shuriken bit deeply into his left arm. Naruto quickly scrambled to his feet, his training already kicking in. Bringing his other arm up, he began putting pressure on the cut to help stop the hemorrhaging and hopefully prevent any major blood loss. He turned his attention to the front to find Mizuki standing there slouched, the other shuriken on his back, and a crazed smile on his face.

"Huh, so you managed to not die. I should have guessed, you always did have the fox's luck."

"What are you doing sensei?" The majority of the pain was beginning to die off, but his arm was still searing. His sensei simply ran a hand though his gray hair and let out a disappointed sigh.

"You always were slow when it came to this sort of stuff, so I'll put it simply." He pointed to the scroll behind his former student. "That scroll you stole is actually the Sacred Scroll of Sealing, or as I like to call it, my ticket out of this dump." The picture was becoming clear to Naruto.

"You're going rouge, and you used me to help you do it." He said, shifting his body to be between Mizuki and the scroll.

"Bulls-eye, kid. Now all that's left to do is tie up the final loose end." With that he lunged at Naruto, pulling a kunai from his pouch. When he got close enough, he swiped at the boy's neck, who promptly turned into a log at the supposed fatal blow. When the smoke had cleared away, both Naruto and the scroll had disappeared. An insane gleam in his eye, Mizuki gave chase.

XXX

Naruto ran through the forest as fast as he could. His left arm hanging all but uselessly at his side. That shuriken had cut through large portions of both his bicep and triceps. While it wasn't a life-threatening injury by itself, it would definitely hamper him more than he could afford. Damn it! He was being chased through a deserted forest by someone who was stronger, faster, and had been doing this longer than longer than he had been in the academy. The Sacred Scroll of Sealing, which he stole, wason his back, and he didn't even have a weapon on him! His kunai, shuriken, even the sword his dad had given him, were all back at his house. Alarm bells began blaring in his head and he tried to stop himself, but Mizuki's shin still caught him directly in the face. His body was sent flying through the air until his momentum was finally halted by him crashing into the side of a small shack.

Dazed and coughing up blood, Naruto struggled to get to his feet. Mizuki simply strolled towards the boy with seemingly not a care in the world. He was only a few feet away when Naruto struck. Lowering his shoulder, he pushed off with all his strength and slammed into Mizuki's stomach, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him to drop the kunai. He then followed up with a hand strike to his jaw. The next attack was stopped when Mizuki struck his wounded arm, digging his fingers into the open flesh. Naruto reeled back and let out a gasp of pain, but Mizuki continued to press, sinking his fist into the blond's gut and smashing him into the ground with an overhead jackhammer. Mizuki took a breath and stepped around the fallen boy to retrieve his kunai and finish the job. After his second step, Naruto lashed out with a kick, hitting Mizuki in the back of the knee, buckling it. The chunin grabbed the offending appendage and threw him into the side of the shack once again. This time Naruto could not get up, no matter how much he willed his body to do so. Mizuki began to chuckle as he unstrapped the second shuriken from his back.

"Good job, Naruto, You almost gave me a decent warm up. Too bad that's just one more reason to kill you and leave this pathetic village." He said, sneering. "I should have been dead after that first attack. You of all people could kill me in an instant if you wanted to."

"What are you talking about? You're a chunin and I just got out of the Academy. Go to Hell." He spat out weakly, blood trickling down from his mouth. Naruto was pissed. He had been led on, stabbed in the back, and beaten to a pulp by his own teacher, and now he had the nerve to say _he _was the one who should have died by now? Mizuki's response was to start laughing full blown.

"And they don't even have the balls to admit what they did to you." He started pacing back and forth, still chuckling every so often, like this had all been a good joke. "Hell, you know what, I'm in such a good mood, I think I'll tell you before I kill you. You want to know what really happened twelve years ago, the night the village was attacked by that demon? The truth is, not even the Fourth Hokage could kill a tailed beast, so he did the next best thing. He sealed it's soul away in a newborn, the only child born that day. You, Naruto. You were the one chosen to imprison the Kyuubi." Mizuki shouted, watching with satisfaction as the color drained from Naruto's face. "That's why I should have been ripped to shreds by now, and that's why the villagers hate you. You are the Nine-tailed Fox!"

Naruto sat slumped against that run-down hut in the middle of the woods. He could see the shuriken in Mizuki's hand start to spin. He could hear the whistle of the instrument that would bring his death. He didn't care. Those were unimportant to the pieces connecting in his mind. It all made sense now, the looks, the mumbled conversations, everything. The fragments were coming together, each falling into place, as the final answer was laid out.

He was a monster.

Mizuki brought his arm back and began to throw ninja star. Naruto unconsciously braced himself for it, no hope left in his eyes.

All of a sudden, Mizuki's body froze, then went completely limp. The shuriken was sent careening off into the side of a tree. He hacked and gargled while all life left him, until the only thing keeping his body up was the blade sprouting from his chest. The sword was slowly pulled out, not making a sound as it did, and the lifeless carcass collapsed, giving Naruto his first look of his savior.

He was an aged man, wrapped in a brown robe, the left side cut away to show a white undershirt. The top of a cane served as a hilt for the sword, held to loosely in the man's left hand. His right arm was tucked away in his robe, hanging near his stomach, as if it were in a sling. He had shaggy black hair and an x-shaped scar on his chin. Bandages covered his right eye from view.

"Traitorous scum."

XXX

"Why?" Naruto chocked out, tears beginning to run down his face. He had been on Death's door, and this man had rescued him. Why would any one want to protect him?

"I protect my investments Mr. Uzumaki." The man responded. "Besides, he was a traitor to the village, he deserved far more than simply death. I should commend your skills though. You did quite well considering you were up against a more powerful opponent, whom had years of experience and detailed knowledge of your fighting style."

"Thanks and all, but what did you investment? You've never done anything for me. Hell, I don't even know who you are." The man's one uncovered eye narrowed.

"Watch your tone, boy. I have done more for you than you know, or did you really think one of the forbidden scrolls would simply be lying out in the open? Was it luck that none of the guards stopped you once you took it? My men were the ones who put the scroll there, and they are the ones who let you leave." So that was why it was so easy to get the scroll. This guy wanted him to steal it.

"But wait, you still didn't tell me who you are and what you want with me." Naruto said, noticing he had avoided the original question.

"What I want is for you to become strong, to utilize the potential that Sarutobi would squander." The words weren't that bad, but the old guys tone said all Naruto needed to hear.

"Don't you dare talk about the Old Man like that!" He shouted.

"Face the facts, boy. Twelve years ago, the Kyuubi was sealed inside of you. Afterwords, Hiruzen passed a law forbidding anyone who could remember from telling you about it. He is afraid of you and of how powerful you can become. Instead of helping you and training you, he held you back, hoping to keep you lonely and ignorant. Everything he did was to help him control you."

"But my fami-"

"Was only given to you six years ago, and even then it was only out of necessity. Sarutobi may fear you, but he fears someone else having you even more. He only agreed to have you adopted after someone tried to kidnap you, in order to help any future attempts. I had petitioned from the first day to raise you, but I was constantly denied. Everyone else met who wanted to adopt you met the same fate. Sarutobi stopped the process before it had barely begun." Naruto felt lost. In one night, his entire world was being shattered, little by little.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Mr. Mizuki may have been trash, but he was right about one thing. You deserve to know the truth." The man's head turned to the right slightly, the sounds of footsteps reaching their ears. "Remember this boy, a tree is only as strong as its roots."

With that, the wind picked up around him, and the old man disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Naruto tried to call out, but couldn't as he fell back into unconsciousness, his body slumping against the wall.

XXX

A ways away from Naruto's unconscious form, Danzo stood alone, waiting in the shadows of the trees. Soon, Fu Yamanaka appeared from the darkness, kneeling before his master.

"Were you successful?" He questioned his servant.

"Yes, Lord Danzo. I was able to plant all of the suggestions deep in the boy's subconscious, but I do not know which will take hold. Also, it appears the beast has yet to awaken from its slumber."

"Good. You are dismissed." The jinchuuriki had eluded his grasp before, but it would not do so again.

XXX

The first thing Naruto noticed when he came too was the soreness. While most of his body wasn't too bad, he could feel his arm and back were still bandaged and extremely tender. He opened his eyes to see a white, tiled ceiling and bright florescent lights. White curtains surrounding him, rails on the bed, yep, he was in the hospital.

The sound of soft humming reached his ears and he looked around for the source. Just beyond the curtains he could see the silhouette of someone as they approached his bed. The hangings had barely parted when he found himself wrapped up in the person's arms. A spasm of fear ran through his body as the memories of what happened returned to him, but they were quickly dissolved away by the warmth of his mother's hug.

Naruto didn't know how long they stayed like that, it could have been forever for all he cared. All he knew was that he wished it could last that long. Finally they separated a little, both smiling and misty-eyed, Athena gently running her fingers through her son's hair.

"You had us so worried." She eventually said.

"I'm sorry mom. I just..." He trailed off, unsure of what to say. His mom shook her head slightly.

"You don't have to explain right now. All that matters is you are safe." The whiskered blond nodded then looked around the room.

"Where's Dad?" He questioned. Athena sighed.

"Gai finally convinced him to go get a meal after spending fourteen hours standing by your bed. He almost gave one of the nurses a heart-attack when he first barged in after finding out about what happened to you." He chuckled, yeah, that sounded like his father. Athena kissed his forehead and they continued to hold each other close.

A few minutes later, Kratos burst through the doors, and as he walked in, he saw his son awake and fairly well-off in his bed. Naruto gulped; he had really been hoping to put this off til later. In an instant Dad was at his side, and he was seeing stars from the smack to the back of his head.

"What in Hades' name were you thinking boy? Breaking into the Hokage tower, stealing classified information, consorting with a traitor, and getting into a fight without any of your equipment with you." Kratos raged, veins bulging in his neck. "What could have made you do something so brainless?"

"I just wanted answers." Naruto started.

"Answers? Answers that were so important you could not wait for Athena or I to return and ask us? Did you need them so much you would help someone betray your city?" His father interrupted.

"But Dad,"

"No, no "but Dad"s. There is no excuse for this idiocy." Naruto could only look down at his hands, his father's words filling him with shame. He quickly glanced at his mom for support, but she slowly shook her head.

"Naruto, what you did was extremely foolish and dangerous." She said softly, Kratos still continuing to go off on him. "You should have come to us first."

"I would have, but you two were gone, and I needed to know right away. I know it was stupid, but I had too."

"Naruto, just tell us what it was?" Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. How could he begin to tell his parents, anybody, this? His brain fumbled with words, trying to come up with something, when a thought appeared in his mind. Horror struck him, and his body was paralyzed by it. No, No, No, No. It couldn't be true. Even if it was he couldn't ask. His reality had already been destroyed by questions, he couldn't let that happen again. But he still had to know, he still had to ask.

"Did you know?" Naruto whispered. Kratos stopped mid tirade, and his mother questioned.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you know?" He asked again, his voice growing louder. "Did you know I have a demon in me? Did you know I'm a monster?" By the end he was shouting, his entire body shaking, hands clenched in anger. His parent were quiet for a while. Athena tried to pull him in for another hug, but he shoved her away. In the end, she answered.

"Yes, we did."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Naruto began to cry. It was true, everyone he knew had lied to him.

"Because you weren't ready, and from what I've seen, you still aren't." Kratos told him. "Athena and I had planned on telling you after your first major mission as a genin. We believed that by then you would be able to handle such news."

"Naruto, I know you feel betrayed, but it was the best option. The Hokage told us the day after we adopted you and left us to chose when you were told about the Kyuubi. We never meant to hurt you, we were simply trying to protect you from the truth. We still love you." Athena followed up. Naruto sniffed,

"But I'm a demon." At this, Kratos could not help but chuckle a little.

"Brat, I've fought many monsters and demons, trust me, you are far from being one." The boy nodded, a sense of relief filling him. His parents still loved him, and had loved him for six years, despite knowing what was held inside of him. Silently in his head, Naruto made a promise that he would become stronger, so that his parents never had to worry about him again, and he could protect them for once.

Nodding to himself, Naruto surprised his parents by jumping up in his bed and hugging his father around the neck. Kratos did not move to return the affection, but to anyone who knew him well, his face said a that needed to be. Athena smiled softly, getting up and walking around to their side. She placed a hand on her son's shoulder, gently rubbing. Yeah his family was far from perfect, but in that hospital room, surrounded by the warmth of his mother and father, Naruto realized something important.

Perfect was boring.

XXX

**What's this? A quick update to make up for the drought before? Good heavens, who would have thought of such a thing?**

**Well, enough of that crap. Not much to say this time, except I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to continue introducing the Naruto universe to my dear friend, the Butterfly Effect. She's a splendid old gal who can make anything interesting, though she can be quite fickle, if I do say so myself.**

**Look out world, Glock3bb is back, baby!**

**Sincerely,**

_**Glock3bb, The Dark Void.**_


	7. Genin Part II

**(Robotic Voice) The following is a fan based story. Naruto and God of War are owned by ****Masashi **_**Kishimoto**_ **and Sony Entertainment. Please support the official release.**

XXX

The next morning found Naruto scrambling to get dressed in his hospital room. At the moment, he was alone. His parents had been summoned earlier in the morning for a jounin meeting. His nurse came in a few minutes ago and told him he was cleared to leave, so he wanted to get to the Academy as soon as possible. Team assignments were today, and he would finally be able to go on missions. It will be totally awesome.

Taking off his hospital gown, Naruto put on the outfit his mom had bought for him the last time she dragged him along shopping. It was very similar to the old jumpsuit he wore, except this one had more black on the back and sleeves of the jacked. A black strip ran down each orange pant leg too. He wore a blood-red shirt underneath. The sword his father had given him for his twelfth birthday hung off of his black belt on his left side. It was a short sword, being only about eighteen inches long, that Dad called a xiphos. The blade had a vaguely leafed shape to it. The beginning tapered in slightly before bulging out to it's widest point about two-thirds of the way down, then tapering again into a point. His father had to pay Tenten's uncle a hefty sum to forge the whole thing from scratch. Apparently, the design was unique to the region his parents had once lived in. Naruto lastly strapped his kunai holster to his right leg, completing the ensemble.

Once he was ready, Naruto decided to do a quick look-over of the room to make sure he did not leave anything important behind. It was during his search that he noticed something sticking out of the night stand next to his bed. He opened the drawer, curious as to what it was. Inside was a small scroll with a note attached. Picking the short letter up first, he began to read.

_Dear Mr. Uzumaki,_

_I apologize for the abrupt end of our conversation in the forest, but I do not believe it is prudent for others to learn of our correspondence yet. Sarutobi has many eyes and ears in the village._

_ I understand if you are still skeptical of me and my motives. In hopes of rectifying this, I offer to you this scroll. A token of good faith, if you will. My contacts have told me you struggle with the regular bushin jutsu. I believe this should help in that regard._

Naruto folded up the note and put it in his pocket. He still had not told anyone about what really happened in the forest that night; he did not know why. Maybe it was out of spite for no one telling him about the Kyuubi, or maybe because a part of him believed everything the old guy had said. Perhaps it was for some other reason he did not understand. Either way, whenever he thought about doing so, it was like a voice in the back of his head kept telling him it was a bad idea. The more he thought about it, the louder and more insistent the voice got.

Putting those things aside for now, he sat down on the bed and took out the scroll.

"Kage Bushin, huh."

XXX

Naruto quietly sat at his desk in the Academy. Iruka-sensei had yet to come in, so most of the other kids were up and about, talking to each other. He quietly relaxed, not bothering to join in, mostly because he did not have any close friends. Sure, there were kids he knew and would talk to on occasion, but his training had cut deeply into the free time he had while in the Academy, making it hard to form any lasting friendships. Plus, the other kids seemed weary of him, and if not them, then their parents. Scanning around, he found the two people he would consider closest to him.

First and foremost was Sasuke Uchiha. Man, he hated that guy. He always acted so calm and cool. Naruto could count on one hand the number of times he had seen Sasuke express some kind of emotion. For some reason this made every single girl in the class love him, even though he never acknowledged them. But worst of all, he was good. As much as Naruto disliked to, he had to admit Sasuke was top of the class for a reason. He was the best in every category, save one, always making it look easy. This, of course, did not stop Naruto's attempts to dethrone him. Ever since their first taijutsu match, a sort of rivalry had sprung up between them. Sasuke tried to keep his top-dog spot while Naruto played catch up, constantly one step behind.

The second was Sakura Haruno. Their first year, the two had gotten along very well. After a while though, circumstances forced them to grow apart. Training and studying got in the way of playing together and talking. Eventually they stopped interacting altogether. He was glad to see her hard spent time studying pay off, though. She was undoubtedly number one in the class when it came to concepts and theory. He hoped that once they were assigned teams he could start hanging out with her again.

With a start, Naruto almost fell out of his chair when Iruka's shouting caught him of guard. Once everyone hurriedly returned to their seats, the scarred teacher began his congratulation speech. Luckily, he had been doing this long enough to know to keep it short and sweet. Naruto made sure to pay close attention the entire time. His mom might be great, but even she could be scary when it came to slaking off at school. After that came the announcing of teams, and Naruto's ears perked at the sound of his name.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha, you will be Team Seven." Well, talk about coincidences. Naruto sent Sakura a smile and wave, which were returned, then spent the rest of the time until Iruka-sensei dismissed them for lunch in a heated glaring contest with Sasuke.

XXX

Lunch was fairly uneventful for the most part. Sasuke had disappeared to wherever he goes to eat alone. Meanwhile, Sakura and he got together and spent the time catching up. It had been nice, and he had forgotten how kind she was. He was still puzzling over the strange feeling he got in his stomach when Sakura accidentally brushed his arm with her hand as she got up to head back to class. Whatever, it was probably just the milk he drank this morning, Naruto finally reasoned.

All the children had returned and were sitting down, so the jounin began to trickle into the room and collect their students. That was when it happened. With sheer power and authority radiating from his gray-skinned body, Kratos marched in and stood imposingly in the front of the room, arms folded across his chest. Pure joy welled up inside of Naruto and he jumped up onto his seat.

"OH YEAH! I knew the Old Man would come for me! You guys can go and suck it because I'm getting the best teacher ever. This is going to be awesome!" His outburst completed, Naruto looked at his dad and felt his blood run ice cold. Dad was grinning that grin. The one that he only wore during training when something horrible for Naruto and amusing for him was about to happen. Kratos spoke in a commanding tone.

"Team 10, follow." At that he turned and left, the newest Ino-Shika-Cho trio hot on his heels, not wanting to upset the imposing man. Naruto fell down into his chair, and his face turned red with embarrassment. He slowly began sinking lower and lower below the wooden desk. Another few jounin came and went as Naruto continued to disappear into the floor. He was finally pulled out of his shame spiral by the sight of his mother entering. At first he was wary, not wanting a repeat of what happened with his father, but that vanished when she stopped and smiled up at him. Hope surged forward in Naruto's mind. What had he been thinking? He knew better than anyone how Dad taught, so why would he want him for a teacher? It was horrible. Of course Mom would be the one to take over now. It made complete sense. This time Naruto kept his victory dance inside of his head, believing one outburst was enough for today.

"Sorry, son. Would Team 8 please come with me?" Naruto did not even see who was moving to leave. After Athena's first words, his body and mind had frozen, before his head fell forward, smacking the top of the desk in defeat. If Mom nor Dad was going to be his sensei, who was, and where the hell was he/she?

XXX

Kratos looked at the three new genin in front of him, sizing them up. Surrounding them was Training Ground #31, a barren place with hardly a tree in sight. Rocky hills doted the landscape, covered sparsely with the few types of grass hardy enough to survive in the tough terrain. Only one small growth of knotty pines had been able to take hold, atop one of the bluffs near the center. The earth was still slightly wet from a spring shower the previous night.

During his observation of his students, Kratos scowled. He had worked with many others belonging to these three clans during his life here, yet even knowing what they could potentially do, what he had seen and read in their files left him unimpressed. The Akamichi was stuffing his face, the Nara, naturally, had fallen to the ground asleep the moment they had arrived, and the Yamanaka, it seemed, was still trying to find a dry place to sit. It was a good thing for Sarutobi Kratos respected him as much as he did, for otherwise he would never have even agreed to doing this.

"Listen up, urchins." Kratos suddenly said. The trio immediately stopped what they were doing and looked at him. They were afraid, good. "We will meet here at the crack of dawn to test if teaching you will be a waste of my time. Whoever passes I will take on as a student. Anyone who fails will be dropped from the program. Do not be late." Having said his piece, he turned to leave. The brat would be home in a few hours, leaving time to do some training himself. The boy's own could wait until tonight.

"What? You can't just say something like that and leave! Aren't you even going to introduce yourself or something." The blonde's yelling stopped him where he was. She would have gone on after taking a breath, but Kratos cut her off with a glare.

"No." His body seemed to flicker in front their eyes, and then he was gone.

XXX

A ways away, in another training ground, Shino, Hinata, and Kiba stood in a line, staring at Athena. The four were in the middle of an open field of green grass, without a single bump to mar the flatness. Kiba was the first to recover from his surprise, and pointed an accusing finger at his new teacher.

"What do you mean we have to take another test right now? We passed the Academy exam already. I don't even have all my gear with me." Athena smiled at the boy.

"A shinobi must be prepared to fight at any time, Kiba." He colored at the slight reprimanding. "To answer your first question, I will not take on anyone as a student. I teach the best. No exceptions. Show me that you are worthy of such an honor." Faster than the three children could see, Athena drew her naginata out of its holster, twirled it around, and stabbed the blade deep into the earth so the pole pointed straight up towards the sky. "Your test is this. Anyone who gets past me and touches my naginata, within one hour, passes. You are allowed to use any technique or weapon you have. They will be necessary to have any hope of doing so."

"Um, Sensei, if we're all going to be fighting, shouldn't you use your weapon also?" Kiba asked, confusion written on his face. The next moment found the Inuzuka with his back on the grass, legs swept from underneath him, and Athena's sandaled foot pressing down on his chest.

"Lesson 1, never question an opponent willing to handicap him/herself in a fight." The former goddess stepped off of Kiba and helped him to his feet. "The test starts...Now."

Surprisingly, it was Shino who made the first move, darting to the right in an attempt to get around her. He was still ten feet away when Athena appeared and backhanded him. Kiba took advantage of this and made a mad dash straight at the goal. Athena rolled backwards and grabbed one of his ankles, sending the boy once more to the ground. Keeping him in her grasp, she spun around and threw him into Shino, who had just recovered from her first strike. The boys laid on the grass for a moment until Shino spoke.

"I believe we should try employing a different strategy now." Nodding in agreement, Kiba scrambled to his feet and charged straight at the jounin. Almost upon her, he suddenly called out,

"Akamaru!" From within his jacket, a white dog leaped, snapping at the jounin's face while his master tried to tackle her. Athena planted her hands on the ground and pivoted, smashing one extended leg into Akamaru's side, then the next into his owners. Returning to her feet, she found herself being surrounded by a multitude of tiny bugs. They soon enveloped her in their swarming mass. A small shriek was heard, and the insects retreated to reveal a frightened Hinata in their teacher's place. Athena stood smiling at them were Hinata had previously been.

"Forgive me, Hinata, I did not know Sensei had replaced herself with you until it was to late." Shino apologized, his kikaichu now milling about him.

"I-It's o-okay, Shino." She answered, still a bit shaken. By now Kiba was up and noticed something strange.

"Wait a second. Hinata, look where you are." He called out. She did so and saw she was standing a few short feet away from the naginata. Each of them turned to Athena, who simply smiled. "What the hell? How come she isn't knocking you around like us."

"I d-don't know Kiba." An idea began to form in Shino's mind. Deciding to test it out, he began running towards the weapon. He had not even reached Hinata yet when Athena substituted herself with the girl once more and batted him away. In a fit of anger, Kiba rushed forward again, meeting the same end as Shino had. He got up onto one knee and punched the ground in frustration.

"This is stupid. Hinata doesn't get her butt handed to her whenever she gets close, but we do. That's messed up." Kiba complained, Akamaru whining in agreement. By now, Shino had risen and was adjusting his glasses.

"It seems that she limits her attacks solely to those who are moving within a certain area around her spear." He explained, having just confirmed his suspicions with his last attempt. Kiba growled.

"Then lets try this. Hinata, back me up." Whispering something into Akamaru's ear, he proceeded to attack Athena, except this time he slowed down and concentrated solely on that, not on getting around her. Hinata stood still for a moment, not knowing quite what to do yet. Kiba's first attack, a clawing swipe at Athena's neck, emboldened her. She activated her Byakugan and jumped into the fray. Hinata tried to hit one of Athena's kidneys while her back was turned, yet she failed as the once deity caught her in the stomach with a mule kick. From here she moved into a cartwheel, stomping a low attacking Kiba into the dirt, who promptly turned into a mass of beetles. Athena backed off before any more could get on her, brushing of the few that had. It was then she noticed the slight wobbling of her naginata. During the brief fight, Akamaru been able to sneak past and was attempting to pull it out of the ground. He struggled even harder when he heard soft footsteps fall right next to him. Athena bent down and gently pried his jaw off the wooden pole. She tossed the dog back to Kiba, who caught him in his arms.

"Very good, If you can not reach an objective, have it come to you. You are beginning to think like true ninja." She encouraged. "Shall we continue?"

"How the hell are we supposed to do this? We can't get close without Athena-sensei beating the crap out of us, and Akamaru says that that thing is really stuck in there." While Kiba spoke, the Aburame heir was examining how they were situated at the moment. Hinata was roughly fifteen feet way from the spear, to the left of him. He was about halfway closer, but the problem was Athena standing directly between him and the naginata. Kiba was a safe distance behind her, crouched down, petting his dog.

"Kiba, try again, only move slowly this time." He instructed.

"No way, I'm not getting pounded again for no reason." The Inuzuka shouted.

"Out of the three of us, you are able to take the most damage and still fight. As such, you are the best one for this experiment." The Aburame calmly countered. Kiba grumbled, getting to his feet.

"Great, I get to be a glorified punching bag. I'm so excited." He began to place one foot in front of the other, being careful to do so very slowly. Little by little, he made his way towards the spear, until he was one step away from being able to grab it. Lifting his leg, Kiba brought it forward and put it down. As soon as it touched down, his whole body flinched and he shut his eyes in anticipation of the worse. When no pain was felt, he cracked an eyelid. Athena still stood in the same spot, not having moved an inch. Kiba pumped his fists into the air in victory.

"Alright! Suck on that, Sensei! We figured out your stupid game!" It was then that Kiba remembered that he should probably finish the test first, so he reached out his left hand. He could continue his gloating afterwords.

WHAM!

The moment Athena spun around and snapped her leg up, punting the boy away. A string of curses flew from Kiba's mouth during his wobbly attempts to get back up. Shino looked at his teammate to make sure there were no serious injuries before turning his attention to his teacher.

"You broke the rules." Athena could not help but smile at the boy's naivety.

"No, Shino, I changed them." Seeing the confused faces of Hinata, and the now recovered Kiba, she elaborated. "The test was to touch my naginata, which would normally be impossible for three fresh genin, so I placed limitations on myself. I would only attack those moving faster than a walk within ten feet of it. That is why I did not attack Hinata at first, why Akamaru was able to reach it, and why Kiba almost succeeded. You did well figuring those out, Shino." At this, her face darkened. "But the rules have been altered. From now on, any one who moves will be attacked mercilessly. For your own sakes, wait for time to run out, do not try again." The last few words were laced with malice, and each child could feel fear begin to clutch their hearts. Time seemed to freeze. That single second became a decade. The next, everything happened at once.

Byakugan flaring, Hinata charged, palms pulled back, ready to strike. Kiba sprang forward, running so low to the ground he was almost on all fours, Akamaru right by his side. Around them, thousands of kikaichu rose up out of the grass; the buzz of their wings deafening out all other sounds. Nothing could stop these forces as they collided towards a single point.

The chaos soon subsided, revealing that the three were alone, with no sign of Athena or her weapon. Peace began to return, and with it, the sound of soft clapping. Behind the children, she appeared out of thin air, spear on her back.

"Congratulations, you pass." That was the final straw for Kiba.

"Are you kidding me? What the hell is going on here? First you tell us we need to pass another stupid test, then kick the crap out of us during it. I almost pass and get sucker-kicked for it. You tell us to just fail, but passes us after we attack. What is wrong with you woman!" By the end of his rant, the Inuzuka was panting, trying to regain his breath.

"There were two parts to my test. First was whether you could figure out my self-imposed weaknesses, and if you could think of other strategies other than rushing in mindlessly." Exhausted and bruised though they were, her students paid close attention to what the previous Goddess of Wisdom had to say. "But shinobi life is unpredictable. Missions can change. Unforeseen complications may appear. It is at these times that indecision kills. You must be ready to make snap choices without knowing everything you need to. That is what you just did. You all made the choice to push forward, to fight even though you did not know what would happen. You have proved yourselves worthy. We will start your training tomorrow."

XXX

Ino Yamanaka wearily trudged into her teams training ground. The night sky sparkled above her, the sun having yet to rise. Heading towards the center, she saw Shikamaru already there, sleeping. Hmph, the lazy bum probably had not even gone home yesterday, instead just going back to sleep for the rest of yesterday and last night. Walking up to him, she kicked him in the ribs.

"Get up, we're supposed to be taking a test, not napping." Shikamaru opened one eye to look at her and then closed it, going back to his nap. Ino silently fumed, knowing from experience how difficult Naras could be.

"Let him sleep, Ino. It's not like Sensei is here yet anyways." Choji walked up to them, talking in between bites of the food his mom had sent with him. Ino crossed her arms and blew a stray hair out of her face.

"Whatever. Don't blame me if he fails." The two started to small talk while they waited for their teacher to show. While they usually did not act like it, Ino knew they were all good friends. It was hard not to be when their families spent so much time with each other. When Iruka-sensei called out the teams, she hadn't been surprised that she had been paired with them, and she was glad. Sure, she missed out on being on Sasuke's team, but then again, there were definitely worse people to have for teammates.

The sound of heavy footsteps brought their conversation to a halt. Ino heard a muttered "Troublesome," and took comfort in the fact that even Shikamaru was nervous, waking up as Sensei arrived. She could not help but glare at him for making them get up so early for this. Worse, the gray-skinned man did not seem tired at all. Any snark comments, though, died in her throat by the time he was standing in front of them and spoke.

"We will fight until the sun has fully risen. Anything is allowed." Ino hesitantly raised a hand and felt her whole body tremble when his gaze fell upon her.

"Isn't that dangerous, Sensei?" He stared at her, unmoving.

"That is the point. I bleed, you pass. Begin." The three genin were forced to jump back when he suddenly appeared in their midst, striking the ground hard enough to cause a small tremor. Ino's instincts kicked in and she threw a handful of shuriken at her teacher. Choji and Shikamaru had the same idea, but it was in vain. He simply turned his back and let the stars bounce off of the blades there. Ino felt scared at that moment. Those would have killed a civilian had they met their mark, and she had just thrown them at her teacher like it was nothing. More alarming than realizing her own capacity to kill, though, was whether the anything goes statement applied to him also.

There was no time to ponder that question as she turned and fled into the nearby hills. Ino was not going to fight that man on his terms if she could help it. She had to regroup with Choji and Shikamaru and hope they could come up with a strategy together. Apparently they had the same idea and were already whispering ideas to each other at the base of one mound.

"Troublesome. Of course we would have to fight him while its dark out. I'm going to be pretty much useless until it gets brighter." He turned towards Ino. "How good have you gotten with Shintenshin no Jutsu?" She shook her head.

"I can't do it unless I'm actually touching the person. Besides, Dad forbid me from doing it outside of when I train with him." Shikamaru frowned.

"Damn. OK, here's the plan." Before he could start, Sensei leaped out of the shadows, catching all three in their chests with a single round-house kick. They hit the side of a hill and rolled down, nursing their abused ribs. He walked forward and stomped down on Shikamaru's stomach. As he prepared to do so again, Ino pulled out a kunai and tried to stab him in the other leg. Rather than hitting the Nara, he brought his foot down behind him, crushing her wrist into the dirt. Ino tried to wretch her arm free, but the pressure was to much. She could barely move it at all. Choji came to the rescue, launching himself into Sensei's side. Sensei staggered slightly, giving Ino the room she needed to free her arm. Shikamaru had already started to crawl off, clutching his stomach. Ino knelt next to him and helped him to his feet. Choji payed for his bravery, receiving a punch to the face, breaking his nose. Blood spurted out, covering his front side in the crimson liquid. Seeing Ino had gotten Shikamaru up, he fought down the pain and managed to leap away with them. Luckily, it seemed Sensei had had enough of thrashing them, letting them escape unmolested.

They finally stopped running when they reached the interior of the pine forest. Once there, Ino leaned Shikamaru against a tree before moving on to Choji. Pulling forward everything she could remember of the first-aid lessons from the Academy, she cut off part of his scarf that was already covered in blood to wipe off any that was still coming out. She folded it in half and gently pressed it onto the crooked nostril. Ino pulled out a kunai and looked into the Akamichi's wet eyes.

"Choji, this is going to really hurt, so I need you to bite down on this really hard, OK?" The boy nodded, opening his mouth enough for her to put the handle between his teeth. She then placed both hands on the cloth covering his nose and twisted firmly until a soft crack was heard. Choji's jaw clenched, a muffled scream still coming out despite his effort. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She tried to apologize. "I know it hurts, Choji, but I need you to hold this there to stop the bleeding. I have to go check on Shikamaru." The large boy nodded slightly, taking the fabric from her hands. Crossing over to her other friend, Ino crouched down beside him.

"How are you holding up?" He asked her. She lightly slapped him on the shoulder.

"You're the one who just got trampled by that guy. I should be asking you that." Shikamaru chuckled in between short breaths.

"Yeah, I guess, but answering is so much more troublesome. And you know what I mean." Ino brought up her right arm. Light purples and blues were already starting to form around the wrist.

"It'll be fine for now. Nothing's broken. All he managed to do was bruise it really badly." She snorted. "You know, I just realized something."

"What's that?"

"We don't even know what our supposed Sensei's name is." The Nara started to laugh, which turned into a hiss of pain.

"Stop trying to make me laugh you troublesome woman." He looked at Ino and saw her fear beginning to show. "Hey, don't worry, I've got a plan." Ino nodded, pushing her panic deep down.

A few minutes later found Ino and Shikamaru hiding low within one of the bushes near the edge of the conifers. Ino idly toyed with the knife in her hand.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Ino? There is another way."

"You said it yourself, Shikamaru. There's no guarantee that way will work. Plus this way works out better in the end."

"Get ready then." At the foot of the hill stood Sensei, arms folded across his tattooed chest. Ino guessed the time he had given them was up. Yes, she knew it was only because he let them that they were able to get away and lick their wounds. Gradually, yet deliberately, he began to march up the bluff.

Soon he was close enough, and Ino dove out of the bush at him, brandishing her kunai. His face pulled back into a sneer, and he drilled a fist into her cheek. The kunai fell from her hand and she flew backwards. Hitting the ground harshly, she closed her eyes and curled up into the fetal position, covering her head the best she could while still rolling. While this happened, the tag attached to her weapon went off, covering the area in a blinding flash of light. Her sensei paused for a moment, giving her friends the time they needed.

High atop one of the towering trees, Choji gathered up all his strength and shoved off into the air.

"Expansion Jutsu!" He called out, right before he started to fall. His body swelled, enlarging to three times his normal size. Gravity finally took hold, and he careened towards the demigod.

"AKAMICHI BODY SLAM!" He roared, colliding with the ground. A small dust cloud billowed out from the parched soil, only to quickly dissipate. Looking to see what had happened, Ino was stunned. None of them had expected this.

Sensei stood solidly in the same spot he had been. His every muscle seemed to be bulging outwards as he braced himself, holding aloft a wriggling Choji in his grasp. He had caught the falling Akamichi.

"Ino, hurry up. I don't know how much longer Choji and I can hold this guy." The platinum blonde shook her head, drawing her final kunai. She ran towards her friend and sensei, gripping the handle. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Shikamaru's crouched from within the bush, hands together in the rat seal. Refocusing herself. Raising the knife above her head, she plunged it down towards an ashen arm. The point hit, right in the middle of the strained bicep, and then bounced back. She tried again and again, but the gray skin refused to break. In a fit of pure desperation, Ino grabbed one of the swords on Sensei's and yanked it free. She hoped that it would be sharp enough to cut him. But it was not meant to be.

The moment the blade was free, chains sprung from one of her sensei's arm and attached to the pommel, shocking the young girl. A burning anger washed over her young mind and body. She had never experienced anything like this before. It pierced through her, rooting her in place. Ino could feel it pouring out, not only from Sensei, but his actual sword as well.

As she stood frozen by the emotional firestorm, Sensei gave a mighty shout and broke free of the Kagemane. He hurled Choji's expanded form at Shikamaru, sending them both crashing into a tree. He grabbed the chain coming from his arm and wretched the blade from Ino's grasp. An overpowering straight kick to her chest smashing her against a hill. Blackness was starting to edged forward from the sides of her eyes. She lied there on the ground, unmoving, vainly fighting it off.

In her semi-aware state, Ino felt someone hoist her up by the back of her shirt and carry her slumped body towards an unknown place. The final thing she heard before fell back into blissful unconsciousness was a gruff voice saying,

"You pass. From now on, you three are my apprentices."

XXX

**Oh boy. Another chapter come and gone, and my longest one yet. Not much to say this time. Just look forward to new stories from The Dark Void and I some time soon. Now, go back and bask in the awesomeness that is me once more. Bask in it I say!**

**Glock3bb**


	8. Genin Part III

**I do not own Naruto nor God of War...What? Were you expecting a witty disclaimer? One that not only absolves me from any legal action but also gives you a good chuckle? Alright fine, here it is...**

XXX

Naruto and his two teammates stared blankly at their new teacher. They were all on top of the Academy, the students sitting on the short stairway while he leaned against the rails around the edge of the building. They had just heard what had to be the laziest introduction ever.

Of course, everything about their sensei seemed to scream laziness. First was the fact he had been over two hours late in picking them up. Then there was his silver heir which was standing straight up, like he awoken one day with it frozen in that position. His outfit was simple: a long-sleeved shirt, pants, and gloves, all a dark navy blue. Over his chest was a pale green flak jacket. A mask covered the lower part of his face and his hitai was sliding off of his forehead, covering his left eye from view. Their jounin sensei, Kakashi Hatake.

"Alright, now its your turn, starting from the right." He said, gesturing towards Naruto. The boy smirked and fiddled with the pommel of his sword before starting to talk.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like my mom and dad, training, and ramen. I hate how long it takes to sharpen my sword properly. My hobby is training, I guess. As for my dream..." He paused for a second. Gripping onto the leather bound handle of his blade, he answered with a determined look on his face. "My dream is to be the strongest ninja ever. Stronger than even my parents or the Old Man." Kakashi nodded and looked at Sasuke.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha. I hate many things, considering there are very few things that I like. I have no dreams, just a determination to restore my clan and to kill a certain man." The Uchiha's speech left Naruto feeling a little uneasy. He remembered the week in the Academy when Sasuke had suddenly disappeared, only to come back completely changed. He knew it had something to do with what happened to his clan, but other than that there was nothing else he was able to find out. During the silence that followed Sasuke's introduction, Sakura noticed that it was her turn.

"Oh, umm," She faltered slightly, "I'm Sakura Haruno. I like reading, listening to music, Naruto, and umm..." The pinkette trailed off blushing and glancing in Sasuke's direction. In an about turn of emotions, her face was suddenly contorted in disgust. "I hate Ino-pig. My hobbies are studying, watching plays, and shopping. My dream is..." Once again, she trailed off, but this time there was an added soft squeal at the end. After a few moments, Kakashi concluded she had finished and spoke up.

"Enough, your teaching will begin tomorrow." Naruto pumped a fist into the air with a grin.

"Awesome, what's our first mission?" Kakashi began to chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing, I'm just imagining your faces when you find out your mission is actually a mandatory test over half your graduating class will fail." At that, Naruto's and Sakura's jaws dropped. Even Sasuke's head perked up with a look of surprise on it. "Ah, there it is." Their teacher said, a twinkle in his visible eye. "Your graduation exam was meant to weed out those with little to no talent at all. This test will show whether you have what it takes to really be shinobi. Here is a map to the training ground where your test will be administered at seven o'clock sharp. The specifics will be given to you then." His chortling returned while handing out the papers. "And before you go, I would suggest not eating breakfast tomorrow. Unless, of course, you enjoy throwing up." With those final words said, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto looked down at the handout and grinned at the thought of the battle to come.

XXX

Naruto sprinted down the streets of Konoha, desperately shoving his way through the morning crowds. He was almost two hours late for his genin test, and now his last hope of passing was that his teacher would be kind enough to still let him take it. It was not even his fault; the whole reason he was late was because his father. Naruto had been about to leave when Dad returned home from meeting with his own team. He had grabbed and dragged him out back to where they usually trained, and is father insisted on Naruto completing his daily morning spar with him. He kept telling Dad he had to go, but nooooo, he had to keep fighting until his father said he could stop. Whenever it came to training, his dad's word was law. Granted, Dad did seem to have been taking it easier on him last night and this morning, but that meant nothing if he did not even get to the test on time.

Seeing Training Ground 14 in front of him, Naruto pushed himself even harder, eventually coming to a skidding halt next to the people he saw gathered in the middle of it. Putting his hands on his knees, he sputtered out an apology in between pants.

"Sorry... I'm... late...my Dad...kept me... to long." After catching his breath somewhat, he looked up and only saw Sasuke and Sakura standing there looking at him. Sakura saw his confused look and answered the unasked question.

"Kakashi-sensei isn't here yet. He's almost two hours late now." Naruto let out a long groan. He would be willing to bet anything that Dad already knew that this would happen, and that was the sole reason their training lasted so long. He let out a huff of annoyance then plopped down on the grass with his head in his hand and began to wait with the others. Minutes passed, and the masked jounin finally appeared, casually walking towards the three. Their teacher, upon seeing his students, lifted up his right hand in a lazy wave of greeting.

"Hello, class."

"You're late!" Kakashi ignored Sakura's shout and the boys' glares. He walked up to one of the three tree stumps in the clearing and pulled out an alarm clock. Setting it down, he turned to look at the children. "This timer will go off at noon. You have until then to steal one of these two bells from me." He held up a pair of small silver bells, jingling them slightly for emphasis. "Whoever does not get one will be tied to the stump until everyone else is done eating lunch, and will be sent back to the Academy for another year of schooling. Since there are three of you, one of you, at least, will be returning home in disgrace." Their sensei's eye narrowed. "A piece of advice, attack to kill, or you will have no chance of passing this test."

"Heh, that's good. It means I won't have to hold back. You had better watch out, Sensei." Naruto said as he got up and started stretching out his arms and legs. Kakashi simply stared at the blond for a time before responding.

"The weakest dog always barks the loudest." His attempt to anger the boy failed, for Naruto simply smirked and drew a kunai from his holder.

"Then I guess I'll just have to show you my bite is much worse than my bark." The jounin sighed and looked at his two other students. Sakura seemed a bit nervous but unwilling to show it. Sasuke's face was as stoic as ever, barely letting out any hints of what he was feeling. Even so, Kakashi could still tell they were both ready, so he called out,

"Begin."

The moment he did so, Sasuke and Sakura took off to the surrounding trees in order to find a place to hide. Naruto took a different approach. Twirling the kunai so that he was holding it in a reverse grip, he charged forward, right at Kakashi. Once he was an arms length away, he dropped to the ground into a slide, going right between his teacher's legs and slicing at the back of the knee. Kakashi was surprised by the brutality of the attack. The young boy was trying to hamstring him right out of the gate.

Unfortunately for Naruto, the attempt failed. Kakashi pivoted on his right foot, pulling his left leg out of danger. Naruto continued with the assault, throwing the kunai at his teacher's exposed back. The silver haired man easily dodged it but was forced to leap back unless he wished to be gutted by Naruto's sword draw. Naruto pressed forward, hoping to keep his teacher off balance and unable to counter. He slashed and stabbed rapidly with little results. Kakashi either moved out of the way of the blade or was able to block it using the metal plates on the top of his gloves.

One upward slice caused Naruto to extend his arm too far out, and Kakashi quickly struck at the jinchuuriki's exposed chest with an open handed strike. As Naruto stumbled back slightly from the hit, he grabbed his teacher's wrist with his left hand and jumped into the air. While floating, he pulled on the arm and used it to add momentum to his drop kick at Kakashi's face. The masked jounin brought his free forearm to stop the strike dead. This is what Naruto wanted; He chopped at Kakashi's now exposed torso, going straight for the finishing blow. It was to no avail, for Kakashi-sensei pushed on Naruto's legs with his blocking arm. The blond's entire body was swung out, the blade barely scratching the forest green vest before it followed the rest of him. However, Kakashi was not finished. He pried loose Naruto's hand and then threw the small genin away towards the lone tree that towered out of place in the middle of the field. Naruto smashed against the trunk and slid down the side, but it only got worse for the young jinchuuriki. The moment his left foot touched the ground he was dragged into the air, a line of rope looped around his ankle. Kakashi calmly pulled out a book and began to read as he approached the dangling boy.

"Impressive," He said, turning a page. "But not good enough. If you want to get one of these bells, you need to stop looking at the surface of everything." Anything else he might have said was stopped short. While he was talking, Naruto had swung his sword at the rope holding him, cutting him free. He tucked into a ball as he fell and turned his drop into a combat roll. It ended with him on one knee, his xiphos extended out in front of him, sinking into Kakashi's gut. That same moment, a multitude of kunai and shuriken came flying out of the tree line, impaling themselves in the jounin's left side. A brief moment later, Kakashi exploded into a plume of smoke, revealing a damaged log in his place.

Naruto sighed and sheathed his sword. By now Kakashi-sensei would be long gone, along with any chance he had of beating him for the moment. Standing alone in the grassy meadow, he thought about the fight. That entire time, something had seemed off to him, but he just could not put his finger on it. His sensei's words only added to the enigma. Naruto frowned slightly before taking off for the trees. Perhaps if he could see Sensei's other fights, he would be able to figure out what was bothering him.

XXX

Sasuke raced through the dim undergrowth of the forest, trying to put as much distance between himself and Kakashi as possible. He had been overeager and blown his cover with that supposed sneak attack. He should have known Kakashi had pulled a Kawarimi on him and Naruto; there was no way any seasoned shinobi would have dropped their guard so easily.

Feeling that he had gone far enough, Sasuke stopped at the bottom of a large oak tree to think of a new strategy. Naruto had impressed Sasuke during that brief fight. He must have improved a lot since their last match against each other. Even then, the Uzumaki had not even come close to getting a bell. If Naruto could not get one, then what did that say about Sasuke's chances?

No, he could not think like that. He was better than Naruto. Everyone knew that, and even Naruto himself had admitted to it once or twice. There was no point in giving up before he had even tried. Taking a few deep breaths, Sasuke reviewed the fight in his head. It was obvious Kakashi was better than Naruto in taijutsu, and there was little hope of Sasuke being able to get the drop on him. That meant that Naruto's approach was most likely his best option at this point. He would have to close in quickly and force Kakashi to fight on his terms. Hopefully, Sasuke would not have to find out how good Kakashi was at ninjutsu and genjutsu.

His mind made up, Sasuke began running to his left, looping his way back around towards the clearing. He was surprised to find that Kakashi was still in the same spot reading his orange book when he got there. Sasuke put his hands in his pockets and marched out to meet him. He stopped a short distance away from his teacher, staring intently at him. If Kakashi had even noticed his presence, he did not acknowledge it. Knowing this was just a ruse to try and annoy him, Sasuke readied himself. This would be the best shot he would get.

In a flash his hands came together, flying rapidly through the necessary hand seals for his opening attack.

"Fire Style: Fireball jutsu!" Sasuke called out as a stream of flames erupted from his mouth, curling into a large ball on the way to its target. Kakashi jumped out of the way right before the fire collided with him and stuffed his book back into his pouch. He was caught of guard with his right hand behind his back when Sasuke appeared in front of him, launching a kick at the silver haired man's chest. Instead of completing the jutsu, the boy had only held onto it long enough for a fireball big enough to hide his approach to form and then cut it off. Kakashi was able to block the kick with his other arm, but Sasuke continued his attack with a punch at Kakashi's head. The teacher ducked and swept the leg Sasuke was standing on, sending him falling. While he was in the air, Sasuke lashed out once more with his foot, but it was quickly batted away.

The Uchiha hit the ground hard but was swiftly back on his feet. To his dismay, Kakashi had disappeared from where he last was, nowhere to be seen. Sasuke looked around trying to find any trace of him when the earth beneath his feet began to tremble. He leaped back, just as a hand reached out of the dirt where he had just been standing. The rest of Kakashi emerged, and he calmly brushed the left over dirt off of his outfit. This was interrupted by Sasuke's renewed assault.

Punch after kick he threw, trying desperately to keep some kind of pressure up. His teacher simply dodged them all, not showing even the slightest bit of stress from doing so. He was finally able to touch Kakashi with a quick one, two punch combo that was quick enough to force the jounin to block with an arm. Taking advantage of this, Sasuke used that limb as a makeshift platform to vault over Kakashi's head with. He reached out an arm as far as he could while he descended, and the very tips of his fingers brushed against one of the bells. Its soft chime reached his ears, almost taunting him with the knowledge of how close he had been. Any further opportunities he had were dashed by a spinning round house from Kakashi. The raven haired boy tumbled through the air until he was finally able to right himself and land safely on the ground.

"Hm, you're definitely good," Kakashi pondered out loud. "You and Naruto have a lot of skill."

"I'm better than him." Sasuke said defensively, almost more to himself than to Kakashi.

"Too bad that I'm going to have to call this fight early then. There's still one more of you I have to check in on." Realizing what his teacher was saying, Sasuke threw a kunai at him to try and stop him from leaving, but it passed harmlessly through the swirl of leaves the jounin had left behind.

XXX

Sakura knelt hidden under a bush in the middle of the forest, putting the finishing touches on one of her hastily constructed traps. The brief glimpses she had seen of Naruto's and Sasuke's fights with Sensei had shown her that she had no chance of getting a bell in a straight up fight. She was nowhere near as good at taijutsu as them, so her only hope was to lure Kakashi-sensei into this place. Here, Sakura would have the advantage and hopefully be able to get a bell for herself, and maybe even Sasuke too. She could not afford to fail.

A soft rustling of leaves reached the pinkette's ears. Looking around, Sakura spotted her teacher walking casually through the woods and calmly reading his book. The direction he was going would lead him right through the area she had trapped, meaning this would be the best shot she would get. She grabbed one of her strings and was about to pull it when she hesitated. Even though her traps gave her an edge, would she be able to get a bell? The odds against her seemed insurmountable.

Suddenly, Kakashi disappeared right before Sakura's eyes, shocking the young girl out of her thoughts. She raised her head, wildly looking around for any sight of him. Something tapping her on the shoulder made her twirl around and then scramble back in surprise. There was Kakashi-sensei, squatting down right behind her with a haunting look in his one visible eye. He calmly put his hands together to form the rat seal. Exhaustion filled Sakura's entire body. She tried to fight, tried to move away, but it was futile. Her body refused to move all the while her eyelids slowly drifted downwards.

The next moment it was as if she had been shocked awake. Sensei had disappeared once again, and she could find no trace of where he had gone. Sakura let out an irritated sigh. Now she would have to find some way to lure him back here. The preteen began heading back to the open field, figuring that would be the easiest place to find him. As she began running, a weak voice calling her name reached Sakura's ears.

"Sa...ku..ra." Sakura paused for a moment. That had sounded like Sasuke. She headed to where it sounded like the voice had come from. When she finally reached it, she froze. All color left her face, and her body was so paralyzed with fear she could not even scream.

Kneeling beside a tall oak was Sasuke, his entire body impaled with various kunai and shuriken. One of the knives had even pierced straight through the boy's palm, pinning it to the tree trunk. His entire left arm below the elbow had been hacked off, and blood ran freely from the open limb, staining the ground red.

"Sakura...you have...to help...Naruto." He gasped out, the kunai spearing through his cheek garbling the already hard to understand words, but Sakura had heard them well enough. She understood what he had said, and somehow she knew exactly where Naruto was. She looked down at her feet where the blond boy laid.

Naruto clothes had been all but ripped apart, revealing every injury his body had taken. Both of his shoulders had been dislocated and his hands mangled beyond recognition. His chest was a tie-dye of black and blue with the added dark maroon splashes of his own blood. The right side femur had been broken and was sticking almost three inches out of Naruto's thigh. That was not the worst part though. No, the worst part was his head. The vertebrae in his neck had been snapped, his head twisted more than one hundred and eighty degrees. The strain on it had been so great that small tears in the skin had opened up, slowly weeping crimson tears.

All of this was too much for Sakura. This was not supposed to happen. This was not how things were supposed to be. The fear inside of her finally pushed out in one great scream before the girl fainted, finally succumbing to the genjutsu.

From a nearby branch, Kakashi watched his only female student. He wondered if he had over done it a little, but was roused from his position when a sharp ringing sounded out. The jounin jumped down and picked up Sakura as she was in no condition to walk back towards the triggered alarm clock.

XXX

The sight at training ground fourteen a little past noon that day was a strange one indeed. Kakashi Hatake was sitting cross-legged on the ground and was slowly unstacking the three lunch boxes he had brought. Across from the jounin, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all tied up to three posts watching their sensei work. Naruto was never one to remain still for long, struggling against the ropes that held him every now and again.

"Now, before I begin eating the food that you three so generously decided to give back to me, I think I will tell you the results of the test." Each of the kids hung their heads low, for they already knew what he was going to say. It was only made worse because the mere mention of food was enough to get a few stomachs rumbling. Kakashi chuckled a little at the sound. "First off, you should know that all of you have much potential." At that, hope was renewed for the genins. They just might have a chance. "But that doesn't matter, because I will personally make sure that none of you become ninja." Kakashi's voice had suddenly lowered, taking on a dark edge.

"What the hell? Why do you have it out for us?" Naruto clammed up quickly after a glare from Kakashi.

"Sakura," He said, directing his words directly at the pinkette, "You let your doubts and fears cloud your judgment. You were so scared of failing that instead of luring me into your traps yourself or getting someone to help you, you simply stayed put and hoped I would stumble into one."

"Sasuke, your overconfidence in your own abilities meant you did not even consider a task might be over your head, even after watching Naruto's fight with me. You gambled everything on the hopes that you by yourself would be enough."

"And Naruto. You had a good idea to focus on me and not on the bells, but you took it to far. You lost yourself in the battle and forgot your objective. I even left open a few opportunities for you to try for one, but instead you continued fighting, consumed by your lust for combat."

"I should flunk all of you right now; Why should I bother training children who cannot see what is right in front of them?" He turned around and slowly walked up to the large stone memorial that was behind him. "If you are not prepared for what this world with throw at you, then you will only get yourselves and others killed. This memorial is dedicated to all those who died in service to the village they loved and cherished. Punks like you have no right to bear the title of shinobi like they did."

"However, I will give you one more chance. Naruto, your errors were the most grievous, and as punishment you may not eat anything." He walked up to the genin and cut the two on the ends down. "Sasuke and Sakura, you may have lunch and regain your strength, but do not even think about giving Naruto any or there will be dire repercussions." Kakashi, having said his piece, gathered up his food and walked away, leaving two boxes behind. The three demoralized genin were left alone for the moment. Silence reigned for a short while until Naruto finally broke it.

"Darn it, that's what was bugging me." He shouted out and was now kicking his stump in frustration. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What are you talking about, loser?" Naruto glared at Sasuke for the insult but then explained himself.

"Sensei's a jounin." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at the blond.

"So what?" Naruto sighed and shook his head.

"So what? So, that means he's the same rank as my parents, and my parents run me into the ground so often it's basically our family bonding time." Sakura's face lit up, comprehension dawning on her.

"You're saying he was going easy on us?" Naruto nodded his head while still mentally kicking himself for not figuring it out earlier. This revelation only served to make Sakura feel even worse. She hung her head low in shame, and guilt welled up inside of her, eventually becoming to much.

"I'm sorry." She half mumbled. "You both were out fighting to get a bell, and all I did was get caught in a genjutsu." Naruto was taken aback by her statement.

"Are you kidding me, Sakura? You know how much I suck at genjutsu. If you couldn't get out of it, there's no way I would have." He looked at Sasuke, waiting for him to say something as well. Seconds passed. Naruto finally got fed up and contorted his body so he could kick Sasuke in the shin. The Uchiha scowled at him but decided to relent.

"None of us were able to get a bell, so we all failed. The reasons why are unimportant."

This brief instance of team bonding was interrupted when both Sasuke's and Sakura's stomachs growled loudly. Naruto laughed at their embarrassment until a combo kick from the two shut him up.

Sakura had a massive blush on her face and glanced at the food sitting near her. Naruto only chuckled at her reaction.

"Go ahead; you two can eat. You don't have to worry about me." The others looked at him incredulously, unwilling to believe what they thought was a tough man act.

"You can't mean that Naruto; you can't say you're not the least bit hungry." Sakura asked a bit worriedly. It was unfair that Naruto was the one being punished for what he did in the test, for she had no hope from the start of getting the bell. The most useful thing she could do was take this hit for Naruto, but that would have bad consequences for all of them.

"Nah, this is nothing." Naruto said. "I've gone days without food sometimes when I've had to train with my dad." Sakura was shocked at that. What kind of parent would do something like that to their own child.

"That's horrible." She gasped, voicing her opinion. Naruto only gave her a quizzical look.

"Are you kidding? It was awesome." His expression changed to one of sheer nostalgia. "I got to spend whole days just training and spending time with my dad. Why would I want to take a break from that just to eat a little food?"

During the last part of the conversation, Sasuke had grown more quiet than usual. Naruto's short talk about his parents had brought up painful memories for the Uchiha. It especially hurt when he mentioned training with them. Sasuke quickly shook his head to clear his head. He knew where that road in his mind would take him, where such thoughts would lead. It was pointless thinking about those times; it had been ever since that night. Refocusing himself, the sounds of him shuffling around interrupted the awkward silence that had followed Naruto's last question. Opening his lunch, Sasuke divided out about a third of everything in it and handed it towards the blond. Naruto and Sakura only stared at him as if he had suddenly grown a second head.

"Are you going to eat or not?" He snapped, his annoyance reaching the breaking point. Seeing Sasuke making the first move gave Sakura the courage to do the same. She picked up a bit of rice with her chopsticks, putting it in front of Naruto's mouth. This only made Naruto more confused.

"What are you guys doing? Do you know what will happen if Kakashi-sensei sees you?" Naruto said while turning his head away from the food.

"Face it, loser. Even if you can go that long without eating, you'll be more useful if you're not starving. Besides, I do not sense Kakashi anywhere near here." The jinchuuriki glanced at Sakura, and she nodded her head in agreement. He relented and opened his mouth to take a bite.

He was stopped when a massive eruption of smoke and wind appeared in front of them. Out from its depths charged Kakashi, his entire body trembling with anger.

"YOU THREE HAVE DISOBAYED MY ORDERS AND FOR THAT...You pass." The silver haired man announced, enjoying the ease at which he was able to mess with his students emotions. Perhaps having a team would not be so bad.

XXX

**Hooollllyyyy Crap. I know that you guys don't care about excuses but let me just say this. Late nights, come home. Work sucks; I know. But no one left me roses by the stairs. No surprises to let me know he cares. **

**Seriously, sorry for the wait. Not much else to say. I realize I borrowed a lot from the manga for this chapter, but there are big differences there if you look for them. Now, sorry to say it's so, but I have to go. Turn the lights off, I'm going home.**

**_Glock3bb, The Dark Void_  
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	9. C Rank

**I do not not own not Naruto nor not God of War, not...not.**

XXX

Casually flipping through the pages of his favorite book as he finished them, Kakashi Hatake sat quietly by himself at an otherwise unoccupied table. Around him, the jounin of the Leaf milled about the crowded bar, conversing, laughing, and generally drinking each other under the table. The elite of Konoha would gather here once every year in order to catch up and have a good time.

Kakashi chuckled softly while he listened in on Asuma Sarutobi's latest horror story. There was a reason this event always occurred after the genin exams. The odds of getting a bad team were extremely high simply because of the number of students in every graduating class. With so many terrifying tales to tell, it became a tradition many years ago for the shinobi to come together and swap stories about one's own experiences with a bad team.

The sharp ringing of a bell was heard at the opening of the front door to the crowded dive. All sound halted for a few moments, but quickly enough, the other patrons went back to what they had been doing. Not even looking up from his book, Kakashi slid one of the other chairs at his table out just as a woman walked up to him.

"Still causing a scene even when you don't mean too, huh?" He said teasingly. Athena sat down on the offered chair and crossed her legs.

"Is my appearance here really so surprising?"

"Well, you have to admit that you and your housemate aren't the most sociable of people." This remark caused Athena to smirk.

"Indeed." The two sat in a comfortable silence for a short time, and a waitress came over to ask if Athena wished to order anything. After a polite refusal, Kakashi decided to breach the calm.

"So, anything you want to warn me about your son before I begin teaching him?" Athena looked back at him with feigned ignorance.

"I am not quite sure what you mean. Has something happened?"

"Oh no. It's just that I've never run into a genin so willing to cripple and gut me right off the bat. Usually it takes a few days of tardiness and poor excuses to do that." Athena had to laugh lightly at that comment.

"Yes, that sounds like Naruto. He is definitely taking after his father." A peculiar combination of emotions ran across Kakashi's face when she said that, but the vast majority of it remained hidden by his mask and forehead protector.

"In other words, I have to watch out, or he will try to cram a lightning bolt down my throat next time." The former goddess shook her head in amusement.

"Luckily for you, no. Naruto's training routine has mostly been the same one Kratos went through when he was young. We focused on his taijutsu, conditioning, and swordsmanship as his father's ninjutsu are still far out of his league, and my illusions would hardly fit his fighting style." Kakashi heard all of this and instantly saw an opening. It might end with him waking up from a horrific genjutsu, but the chance was too good to pass up.

"That's the cover your sticking too, hmm? I can't imagine any other reason you might want to focus on Naruto's taijutsu training." He said, his unique eye smile firmly in place. What he was implying actually managed to catch Athena off guard, leaving her a bit flustered. She hurriedly recomposed herself and answered him.

"While, yes, Gai did lend a... small hand when it came time for sparing practice, Kratos was and has always been Naruto's main teacher." Kakashi let out a laugh at her reaction. He would have continued teasing had the bar not begun to suddenly dissolve around him. Damn, he thought; he had lowered his guard too much in his enjoyment. Kakashi sighed and readied himself for whatever nightmares Athena had in store for him this time. Ah well, it was worth it.

XXX

Across the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood silently atop the Hokage Tower. He took a deep puff from his lit pipe and slowly exhaled, watching the smoke be gradually carried away by the cool night breeze.

"Tsunade would have a fit if she knew you were still smoking at your age, Sensei." Hiruzen took the pipe out of his mouth and tapped the smoldering ashes out over the side of the building.

"It is good you came here so quickly, Jiraiya." The toad sennin ran a hand through his long, white hair then walked forward and rested his hands upon the rooftop railing next to the Hokage. He could tell by his teacher's voice that this was no time for jokes.

"Yeah. I was already on my way back through this area when I got your message. So, Danzo has been rearing his ugly head again."

"It would seem so. Either that, or someone else has found a way to disrupt my observation jutsu. I am inclined to believe the former." Jiraiya grimaced at the thought of that man anywhere near his godson. His expression soured more with Hiruzen's next words. "Naruto has learned of the Kyuubi."

"I thought you said something was causing interference with your jutsu." The toad sennin already knew the answer that was coming.

"Kratos and Athena informed me about it after they checked on him." Grey eyes narrowed at the names of the one time gods. Sarutobi easily sensed the mood swing of his student. "You still do not completely trust them, do you Jiraiya?"

"Six years." He said, standing up to his full height. "My contacts have been asking around for six years, yet they haven't been able to find anything about them. Not a single damn thing, Sensei. It's like they just appeared from thin air the day they came to Konoha." Sarutobi nodded.

"It is unusual." The sannin turned his head towards the elderly man.

"What do you know, Sensei?"

"I know enough, Jiraiya." It was the same old song and dance they did every time Jiraiya returned to Konoha. He would try to wiggle any information he could from his teacher, only to be constantly shut down. In the end, Jiraiya would always give up and trust his sensei's judgment. Besides, even though he did have other valid reasons, Jiraiya had to admit a part of his distrust of them simply stemmed from jealousy.

His heart had broken even further in the aftermath of Minato's and Kushina's deaths when Jiraiya found out he would not be allowed to adopt Naruto. Because both of the married couple had died that night, they were unable to officially declare him one of Naruto's legal guardians. It was a small technicality, as everyone close to the spouses knew who they were going to chose, but it was all Danzo needed. He used that fact to bar the sannin from taking custody of the boy right away, and he then strong-armed the orphanages into denying his adoption requests. Supposedly, it was because his long stretches of absences and well known perversion would make him a sub-par caretaker, but Jiraiya knew it was all that bastard's doing.

"So what do you want me to do?" Jiraiya's inner contemplation had refocused his mind on the reason he was here in the first place.

"Nothing for right now. I have warned Kratos and Athena to be on the look out for anything suspicious, and Kakashi will be sure to keep a close eye on Naruto. Should Danzo continue to contact him, you may need to take Naruto on as your apprentices sooner than we had planned." Sarutobi reached up and patted his student on the shoulder. "Do not worry, Jiraiya. Everything will work out for the best." He turned and began to leave, saying as he did so, "Remember to stop by for a drink before you leave again."

The toad sennin chuckled. His sensei always knew how to get him out of a funk, and he was right. Brooding had never done anything for him. He was Jiraiya, the great toad sage of Mount Myobuku. Envied by men and lusted for by women, he had no time to dawdle on thoughts such as those. He was in the greatest village of all with a full wallet, empty notepad, and raring to do some research.

XXX

Life in Konoha continued on as the days turned into weeks and then months. Team 7 was returning to the Hokage Tower having just completed their latest mission. Above them shined the afternoon sun, bathing the village in its golden radiance. Not a single cloud marred the clear blue sky. Naruto led the group while holding a tan colored cat with a bow on its left ear by the scruff of its neck. He made sure to keep the monstrosity at arms length from him at all times. The feline refused to go quietly, constantly struggling against her captor;s grip and trying to tear her tiny claws into him. Behind them was the rest of the team, the other genin keeping a close eye on the cat in case she managed to break free for the fifth time. They were about to enter the building when the doors were opened from the inside to reveal the members of Team 8. A moment of silence passed between the genin squads before being interrupted by a harsh cry.

"Aaagh! Damn it!" Tora, having sensed a slight loosening in the Kyuubi jinchuuriki's hold, twisted the lower part of her body to scratch Naruto below the eyes with her back paws. Naruto dropped the cat in surprise and covered his injured face. This roused the rest of the groups from their stupor; Naruto's teammates scrambled to grab the feline as Kiba began roaring with laughter. His mirth was soon halted because of Tora leaping onto his face. Instead of trying to escape again, she decided to take out her pent up frustration on the first thing that she saw. It was too bad for the Inuzuka that fate went ahead and handed him the short straw.

Kiba stumbled back, trying to desperately to get the cat off of his head. Akamaru quickly entered the fray to help his partner out. He bit Tora by the tail and hopped out of Kiba's jacket, dragging the irate cat behind him. Akamaru let go of the furry appendage once they hit the ground and began to square off. Hair prickled straight up and growls filled the air. These pre-fight intimidations were abruptly put to a stop by Sasuke and Kiba picking the each of them, albeit a little reluctantly on Sasuke's part.

"Umm, are you alright Naruto?" The sun-kissed blond removed his hands from his face and looked up to see Hinata Hyuuga standing a few feet from him. She was staring intently at the ground beneath her feet with her index fingers pressing together in front of her face. Naruto picked himself up, brushing the dirt off of his pants.

"Yeah, I'm fine; it's not that bad. I really only covered my face as a reflex. Good thing Tora hates dogs, or we might have had to catch her all over again." He said laughing. Hinata began to blush slightly at the fact she was actually talking with her crush, but Kiba intruded on the conversation before anything else could be said.

"You think that was funny, Uzumaki?" The Inuzuka stalked up to Naruto, trying to look intimidating despite all of the shallow cuts covering his visage. Said Uzumaki grinned at the other boy,

"No, I think it was hilarious, mutt." The two butted heads, tension rising between them. This would have continued had not a cold shiver that Naruto knew well and Kiba was beginning to recognize ran down their spines. Beside them stood Athena with a strict look on her face, looking down at the boys. They hastily took a few steps back from each other, and she nodded in approval. Turning towards Kakashi, she addressed her fellow jounin.

"Forgive us for disrupting your team's mission Kakashi. We did not mean to cause you any hindrances." The masked man casually waved off her apology.

"Meh, don't worry about it. I'm sure it would not have been that hard to recapture her." His students glared at him for that comment. The memories of him leaning comfortably against a tree while they chased down that fur covered annoyance were still fresh in their minds. "Are you done for today, or are you taking your squad on another D-rank?" Kiba finally regained his confidence enough to speak up with a grin.

"Nope, we get the rest of the day off to prep for our C-rank tomorrow." Naruto gaped at his fellow genin.

"What? No fair." He whirled to face his sensei. The blond summoned up every ounce of remaining cuteness he had and put on his best puppy dog eyes. "Can we get a C-rank next, pretty please, please, please, please, please!" Kakashi rubbed his chin in mock contemplation.

"I don't know, C-ranks can be incredibly dangerous." The truth was he thought they were ready for it and had been planning on requesting one after this mission, but there was no need for them to know that. And so began a stand-off between the master and student, each unwilling to be the first to give in. This would have continued indefinitely had a loud shout not impeded on their contest.

"Dynamic Entry!" Naruto and Kakashi's eyes widened. Their bodies locked up as they tried to determine who the intended target was. The next second they let out a sigh of relief when Athena took a small step backwards to allow an airborne Might Gai to pass by harmlessly, mere inches from her. The eccentric jounin skidded to a halt and spun, holding his left hand out with his thumb pointing up. "A most youthful dodge, Athena. Your reaction time is as good as ever."

"Hello, Gai. I would ask that, in the future, you refrain from ambushing me while I am with my team." She said in return, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Certainly. Forgive me if I interfered with you teaching your most youthful students." The spandex-clad man brought up his left hand and held it firmly out in front of him in a thumbs up. He winked an eye and gave a giant smile, solidifying the promise in his mind.

Sasuke and Sakura stared dumb founded at the strange man who had come out of nowhere, and they looked at Team Eight to see if they knew what was going on. To their dismay, it seemed that their fellow gennin were as lost as they were. Naruto, on the other hand, was connecting dots in his head at a rapid pace. If Gai was here, then that meant the rest of his team was back from their mission, and if that were true...In a flash, Naruto drew his xiphos, moved the blade behind his shoulder, and blocked the diagonal cut from the ninjato heading straight for him. The two swords clashed together, emitting a harsh clang.

"Hey, Tenten. It's nice to see you too."

"Darn it, Gai-sensei! You messed up my sneak attack." Gai threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"Do not despair, my dear Tenten. Our failure is only motivation to work even harder so that next time our flames of youth will burn even brighter and light our way to victory." While that conversation was going, Naruto and Tenten continued to struggle against each other. Tenten gritted her teeth as she tried to overpower the younger boy, but it was to no avail. Naruto let up the pressure on his sword to throw her off balance. The kunoichi stumbled forward to his left side. Her ninjato slid past the blond as he pivoted around behind her. He wasted no time grabbing her wrists and pinning them to her chest, pulling Tenten into a massive bear hug. Her ninjato fell from her grasp in the process, leaving her with limited options when her friend bridged his back and lifted her off the ground, holding her in the air.

"Put me down, Naruto." She exclaimed. The nine-tail jinchuuriki only grinned and turned so he could face his teammates.

"Uchiha, Sakura, look what I caught. Can we keep her?" His teasing had two immediate effects. The first was it caused Sasuke and Sakura to relax, for they had tensed up and drawn their kunai in case Naruto needed help fending off the random, attacking girl. The second one was Tenten began fighting even harder, eventually managing to catch the blond in the shin with a foot. Naruto promptly got the message and dropped her back down. The two glared at each other briefly before laughing and giving the other a hug.

"Tenten, these are my teammates, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura and Sasuke, this is Tenten Suzuki; we've known each other for years." Naruto said as his teammates broke off from the main group and approached the old friends. Tenten waved at them while she shook off the dust from the fallen ninjato she had bent down to retrieve.

Something inside Sakura instantly said she did not like the other girl. She could not figure out why, considering they had just met, but she did not say anything. The pinkette did not want to upset Naruto by insulting someone he was obviously very close to.

"So you two were the ones paired up with the munchkin?" Tenten asked, ignoring Naruto's indignation at her nickname for him. "He may be an idiot at times...well, most of the time, but don't worry. The good outweighs the bad, usually." The Uchiha simply grunted to show he had heard her while Sakura nodded.

It was at this point that Tora made her move. Hanging forgotten by her collar during the bizarre events that had transpired, the feline had managed to maneuver her neck so she could begin biting through her collar. When she finally did, Tora hit the ground running, taking off like the Shinigami himself were hot on her tail. By the time Team Seven realized she had done this, all they could do was gape in the direction their mission had just gone.

"I guess I'll see you later." Naruto groaned to Tenten as the three trudged off once more to retrieve the cat, each one silently cursing whatever evil was responsible for spawning such a creature. The older girl watched them go, trying hard to contain her laughter. Before they disappeared, she managed to call out between fits,

"Don't forget we're having dinner at Uncle's house tonight, Naruto."

"Come, Tenten, we must hurry if we wish to finish our youthful laps around Konoha before conditioning this evening. If we can not do that, we shall run an extra ten laps afterwords. The flames of youth must be even stronger in the future if we are to defeat our numerous rivals." Tenten's glee vanished at the sound of her sensei's yells. She honestly did not know who would have it worse now, her or Naruto.

The teacher-student pair took off, leaving Team Eight standing in the growing shadow of the Hokage Tower. Kiba looked around bewilderedly and voiced his question at Shino.

"What the hell just happened?" For once, Shino's lack of response had nothing to do with his quiet nature.

XXX

Three hours later, Team Seven was finally at the Mission Assignment Desk. They had managed to capture Tora once more and return her to her owner. The three genin were off to the side near a corner of the room, waiting until their team was called to receive their next mission. Sakura and Naruto were both sitting on the ground, staring into space while Sasuke stood a few feet away, leaning against one of the walls with his eyes closed. Kakashi was off somewhere else doing whatever it was he did when it came to waiting around here. All about them milled other shinobi who created a subdued din that helped alleviate a small part of the children's boredom by giving them a large number of conversations to listen in on. Luckily for them, the monotony was soon broken up by a familiar yell.

"Sasuke!" Out of the bustling crowd appeared Ino Yamanaka, promptly wrapping her arms around Sasuke's neck from the right side. "I haven't seen you in so long. Did you miss me?" A fire lit in Sakura's eyes at the sight of her rival draping herself on her crush, so she shot up and yanked the platinum blonde off the boy.

"Get off him, Pig! Sasuke doesn't want you getting your stench all over him." Ino freed herself from Sakura's grasp and stuck her tongue out at her.

"Go away, Forehead! Its obvious that Sasuke would rather spend time with me after having to look at your ugly face every day." The girls glared at each other silently before hurling insults at each other with renewed passion.

"Man, this is such a drag." Sasuke and Naruto looked back to the front and saw they had been joined by the other two members of Team Ten, Shikamaru and Choji. Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck and gave Sakura and Ino an annoyed look. "Do they have to do this every time they're around each other."

"Honestly, I would be scared if they didn't." Naruto said with a laugh. It was then that he noticed the scraps and bruises that covered the boys of Team Ten. "What happened to you guys? You look like you just got your butts handed to you."

"Our sensei, that's what happened." Shikamaru answered flatly. His posture slouched even more than usual as his bones remembered just how exhausted he really was. When he declined to elaborate any further, Choji stepped in for his friend.

"Kratos-sensei has been running us into the ground almost every day; Even training with my clan was never this tough." He said in between bites of potato chips from the bag he had just opened.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you got my dad for a teacher." Naruto looked at the boys with a skeptical gaze. "It can't be that bad for you guys." Choji and Shikamaru gaped at the sun-kissed blond. If anyone could get what they had been going through, it would have been Naruto. His statement was so unbelievable to them that it even called away Ino's attention from her squabble with Sakura. She immediately decided to add her two cents in.

"Are you kidding me? During our gennin test he badly bruised the bones in my wrist and cheek, shattered Choji's nose, and almost crushed Shikamaru with Choji's expanded form." Ino squawked, her quarrel forthwith with a different member of Team Seven. "He ended up having to take us to the hospital to treat everything." Naruto gave the Yamanaka a deadpanned look and shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, and?" Ino growled and yanked her hair in frustration. Of course the boy who had been living with Sensei for years did not see anything wrong with that picture. "I think you just need to calm down for a little while. He's really nothing but a giant softie once you get to know him." To Shikamaru, it was as if the Uzumaki had suddenly grown a second head.

"Naruto, I used to think my mother was single most troublesome person in the world, but your dad proved me wrong." He shook his head in defeat, realizing how pointless it was to try and explain that fact to his fellow genin. He sighed. "And now Sensei wants us throw us into a C-rank mission already for some reason. This is all such a drag." The pineapple haired shinobi shook his head. All he had ever wanted was to live an average life and be an average shinobi, but nooooo, these days he had two people in his life who were pushing him to actually... _work_. The Nara eventually gave into his weariness and collapsed to the floor. He laid sprawled out and placed his hands underneath his head. His sensei was off getting their next mission and Shikamaru did not see the point in continuing that conversation any further. The only thing he cared about at this time was taking one of the beloved naps he had been cruelly denied so much more often in the past few months. His hopes were all dashed by Naruto's next words.

"Hey, Dad." Kratos nodded towards his adopted son in greeting. He had returned to his team in order to dismiss them for the day and had arrived in time to here Shikamaru's last remarks. The demigod glared down at the dark haired boy.

"If that is how you feel, Nara, do not bother attending the next mission. You will only get our way." Shikamaru tried to gulp down the knot that had formed in his throat and nodded that he understood. "We leave at dawn tomorrow. Anyone not there will be left behind." As quickly as he had appeared, Kratos was gone, vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

XXX

After a few awkward minutes, Team Kakashi was called forward to get their mission. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke said goodbye to Team Kratos in their own ways before heading to the assignment desk. There they saw Kakashi already waiting for them in front of the Hokage. The aged leader smiled at them as they walked up.

"Good work successfully capturing Tora you three. Hmm, let me see here;" Sarutobi picked up a pile of papers, shuffling through them. "For your next mission, you may help an elder woman clean out her gutters, help weed a farmer's crops, or aid a daycare that is currently shorthanded."

"Actually, Lord Hokage, I think my team is ready for a C-rank mission." Kakashi said, taking in the beams of his students with a hidden smile.

"Do you know? Well then, I'll look and see what I have." He put down the files he had been holding. He was digging through a smaller stack when a voice interrupted the proceedings.

"If I may, Lord Sarutobi, I believe I have the perfect mission for this team." Naruto looked at the man who had just spoken. He had been conversing with the Hokage when they had entered about something, but Naruto had paid him little attention. The first thing Naruto noticed was how well-rounded the adult was. His loose robes hid some of the girth, but it was clear he could stand to miss a meal here and there. Said clothing was extremely elegant in style and design, much more exuberant than Naruto regularly saw. The cloth was divided into medium sized, dark purple diamonds by thick, navy blue stripes. Both his leggings and undershirt were a vibrant yellow that clashed horribly with the rest of his attire. A couple of rings adorned the stubby fingers of his hands. He wore traditional sandals carved from very high quality wood.

As far as his other physical attributes, the man was in his late forties at least. Small wrinkles were beginning to form on his face, underneath a drastically receding hairline. What remained of his jet black hair laid flat atop his round head. He had dark brown eyes and was slightly under average height. His short, thick neck was almost nonexistent. His mouth was pulled upwards in a pleasant smile.

"Are you sure, Mr. Fukui? I know before you were considering a more experience team of chunin for your mission." Hiruzen questioned. The named Mr. Fukui waved off Sarutobi's concerns.

"Yes, yes, you're right, but there is no need to worry. I'm sure they will be able to handle it. Besides, it is not every day one is able to hire the Kakashi Hatake for such a low price." The Third Hokage did not seem convinced however. He addressed the jounin.

"This is Mr. Akihiro Fukui. Recently the lands near his estate on the eastern edge of the land of fire have seen an increase in raids by group of organized bandits. He wishes to hire a team to escort him back to his home and guard his residence until his own private forces are able to put down the marauders. I leave the decision to you, Kakashi." The silver haired man rested his face in his palm while he thought. It seemed straight forward enough. With any luck, they would not have to even do anything on this mission since the client was taking care of the problem himself. On the other hand, the mission might be a bit too important for a genin teams first C-rank mission.

"We accept, Lord Hokage." In the end, Kakashi had faith his students were up to the task, and should things get out of hand, he could always step in and help. The old man nodded.

"Very well then. Here are the mission scrolls with more details. Review them tonight and meet Mr. Fukui tomorrow morning at nine at the eastern main gate. Good luck."

XXX

**To answer your questions: yes, I did just do that, and yes, I am that awesome.**

**Now that that's out of the way *clears throat* BA-BAM!**

**Ha, admit it, some of you did not believe. Some of you thought this would be a mere rehashing of the Naruto story line except with two additional characters. WRONG! Man, I wish I could see your faces right now. I am such a dastardly damsel.**

**So here's to the start of _my_ "Wave" Arc, where you get three for the price of one, and that price is free. Woohoo! Strap yourselves in, it's going to be a bumpy ride.**


	10. Ambiguity Part I

**I do not own Naruto and/or God of War. I know this story will never be considered canon, but I can dream, damn it!**

XXX

Kiba yawned loudly as he stretched his arms up towards the morning sky. The red sun had just barely begun to peak out above the horizon. The majority of Konoha was still quietly asleep in their beds while he waited at the northern gate for his sensei to arrive.

Close by the young Inuzuka were the other genin of Team Eight. While not as vocal about it, Kiba could tell they were just as tired as he was. Hinata was sitting upon one of the many benches that lined the sides of Konoha's streets. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap, and her head would occasionally bob down slightly as she nodded off, just to shoot back up a few seconds later when she awakened.

Shino stood the farthest away with his back leaning against a tall oak. His collared jacket and sunglasses hid any obvious signs of fatigue from sight, but Kiba saw the slight shifts of his friend stifling a yawn of his own. Each of the children had a bulging backpack with them. The sound of soft footsteps that accompanied their sensei's sudden approach shook the sleepy shinobi from their stupors.

"Good morning, students." Athena greeted.

"Good morning, Sensei." They chimed in unison.

"I am glad to see you are all here on time and ready to go. Our mission is in a small village on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice Paddies. Once we arrive there, we are to help the local law enforcement with their job for a month." Kiba grinned and pumped his fist.

"Awesome! Our first real mission and we get to chase down thieves and murderers for a whole month." The Inuzuka quickly shut his mouth when Athena directed her piercing gaze directly at him.

"That will be highly unlikely. Ibaraki's population has only recently ascended past the two thousand mark and possesses a very low crime rate." Hinata quietly spoke up in her timid voice, stammering occasionally.

"Umm, Sensei, i-if that's true, th-then why would they need us t-to help the police work?" The former goddess smiled at her student.

"An excellent question, Hinata." The girl turned bright red from the praise. "Many of the smaller villages in the Elemental Nations to act as law enforcement for two main reasons. The first is that it frees up manpower the town can use for other tasks such as farming, blacksmithing, etcetera. Secondly, shinobi are better equipped to handle an average criminal as well as any more serious threats that may turn up than regular enforcers." The three genin nodded in understanding.

"Normally, assignments such as this last anywhere from six months to a year." Athena continued. "Since this is the first time Ibaraki has approached Konoha for such a commission, however, the length has been greatly reduced."

"Allowing Ibaraki to decide whether it wishes to continue working with Konoha or do business with a different hidden village." Shino finished for his teacher, and the jounin nodded.

"Precisely, Shino. As such, I expect all of you to do your absolute best to ensure Ibaraki will continue its business with our village. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Her team responded.

"Then let us head out." Athena said. She turned and began walking towards the massive gateway with Kiba, Hinata, and Shino following in her wake.

XXX

"Name five countries that border the Land of Fire."

"The Land of Rivers, the Land of Hot Springs, the Land of Tea, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Waterfalls."

"Good. What landmark are did we pass close by yesterday, Kiba?"

"The Valley of the End."

"Correct, and why is it famous, Hinata?"

"Um, i-it is where the Sh-shodaime Hokage fought Ma-madara Uchiha for control of Konohagakure."

"Excellent. Now, Kiba, what is the major export of the Land of Rice Paddies?"

"Uhhhh...rice?"

"Incorrect, Shino?"

"Alcoholic beverages. More specifically sake, also known as rice wine."

"Oh, come on! That was a trick question."

It has been two days since Team Eight had set out on their first C-rank mission. During this time, Athena had suspended the children's daily physical training so that they would not use up all of their energy and be unable to walk afterwords. To compensate for this, the former goddess had taken to quizzing the three on various subjects while they traveled. There were no repercussions for answering wrong, but each child knew better than to be caught slacking off. Athena's chilling glare was enough to make even the most battle-hardened shinobi pause momentarily.

A short ways in front of the group, the faint outline of a large hamlet could be seen peaking out between the trees. The mid-morning sun saturated the leaves and gave a greenish tinge to anything under the canopies. The soft dirt road muffled the steps of the shinobi as Team Eight marched on; damp soil sunk down slightly at the weight and left shallow footprints in their wake.

Soon, the Konoha ninja had reached the outskirts of Ibaraki. There they saw an elderly man walking up to the wooden gate with a bulging cloth sack slung over his right shoulder. In his left hand he carried a large walking stick that stood taller than his hunched form. His bald head was covered by small cap to protect the sensitive skin from damage. He wore a light red robe with darker shade bordering the edges. The man's face was deeply wrinkled, and his crinkled brow almost hid his pale green eyes completely. Worn, leather sandals adorned his socked feet. He hummed softly as he walked, but stopped to talk with the civilian guard posted at the entrance. The two conversed for a short while before the younger man pointed at the approaching shinobi. When the man turned and saw them, a grin spread on his face revealing missing tooth on the right side of his mouth.

"Well, hello there, travelers. What brings the four of you out to our little town?" The elder called out.

"Good morning, sir. We are here to help your prefect in his or her duties. Would you mind taking us to their office?" Athena greeted in return. The man let out a loud cackle.

"I'll be damned. You must be them Konoha shinobi. Heh, yeah, I can show you were to go, seein' as it'd be me you're lookin' for." Kiba looked at him skeptically.

"Are you sure? But your so ol-ow." The Inuzuka stopped talking with a yelp after Athena flicked his ear.

"Do not be rude, Kiba." The man simply laughed again and waved his hand.

"Bah, forget it. It's part of the reason I've started hiring your type to help me out. Names Hiroshi Satou, but y'all can call me Hiro. Come on now, I'll show you around." He turned his back to them and started walking away. Athena was right behind him, motioning for her students to follow as well.

Inside the wooden walls, Ibaraki's main street was alive with activity. People walked briskly down the sides to their destinations, greeting each other as they passed. Wooden carts drawn by oxen crowded the middle as they dragged their loads around the village, out to the nearby fields, or back from them. Boisterous vendors cried out above the general din, naming their various prices.

Small houses bordered the edges of each street. All of them were brown in color though the shade varied depending upon what type of wood had been used in their construction. None were over two stories tall, save for one that stood at the very center of the village.

Said building stood atop a shallow hill overlooking the hamlet; this made the three story building seem even taller than it was. In the center was a smooth dome that connected to the two wings on either side and in back. The front was bare for the most part. However, a beautiful wood carving outlined the entrance, depicting what Athena guessed was a history of the village and a few local legends.

It was towards this building that the shinobi were led, but their progress was very slow. The elderly gentleman who was supposedly their client seemed unable to go more than two feet without having to stop and speak with someone passing by. Eventually, the prefect would remember what he previously been doing and excuse himself to continue on his way.

By the time the group reached the ornate doorway, the bright sun had almost reached its peak for the day. The old man reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys to let them inside. The doors opened seamlessly, and he ushered Team Eight in.

Hiroshi led them through the building to his spacious office where he leaned his walking stick against the back wall and sat down behind his worn desk. The large sack was plopped down at his side. He let out a long sigh of relief before addressing the shinobi gathered before him as Hinata quietly shut the door.

"Well now, I reckon it's time we got down to business." Kiba was about to mutter something under his breath but quickly remembered his sensei's warning. "Bottom line, I'm gettin' to damn old to be chasin' after youngin's all day long. That's were you four come in. Not much to do for the most part 'cept wander around the village an' make sure nothin' happens. Ibaraki's a pretty quiet place for the most part, but sometimes people just lose their heads over little things." Athena nodded in understanding.

"Where will our lodgings be during our stay here?" She questioned.

"Y'all'll be stayin' at my house fer the time bein'. We got plenty a room up on the old flat. My house is a little ways up yonder, near the north gate. Past that is the road up to the rice fields where we do most of ar' farmin'. You saw the shops on ar' way here. Far as payment goes, you-" Hiroshi halted in the middle of his sentence when the door to the office suddenly opened.

"-door's open, so he should be in here..." The young man who entered let his sentence trail off at the sight of the people in front of him. He had shaggy brown hair that hung down close eyes. He looked to be in his early twenties with a lean frame and tanned skin that came from many long hours toiling in the crop fields. His eyes were a deep, chocolate brown. He wore a dark green robe and wooden sandals. At his side was a short tantō in a shabby scabbard. "Umm, hey, Hiro. I was just looking for you."

"Kenji, what're you doin' here. I thought I gave you the week off." Hiroshi asked the boy. Kenji rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the floor.

"I was just, um...escorting the shinobi you hired to your office." Hiro's eyes narrowed at the young man.

"That'd be a mighty hard thing for ya ta do, seein' as they're already here."

"About that..." Kenji stepped to the side of the door and let the five people standing behind him enter.

The first was a middle aged man wearing a black jumpsuit and a gray tunic. A purple belt of twisted rope kept the bottom of his tunic held in place. He had slicked back, brown hair that touched the base of his neck. The strangest part about him were his hands and eyes. His hands were a metallic gray in color and full of luster. His jumpsuit hid how far up the coloring reached, but it was at least to his wrist. His eyes were completely white, with no defining features at all. The man wore an impassive expression with his lips drawn into a tight line.

The second person was a woman dressed similarly to the first man. Her eyes were light blue with a sadistic gleam within them, and her black hair was pulled into short pig tails that stuck out into the air. The standard kunai pouch was strapped tightly to her left leg She wore a cruel smile upon her ivory face, accentuated by her black lipstick and eyeshadow.

Behind those two was a younger girl in her mid-teens. She had a tan combat vest covering her torso and wore black and gray camouflaged pants. Her long black hair reached all the way down to the small of her back; the strands were kept together by a large purple bow at the end. She to had a kunai pouch, only hers was on her right side. A scarf with the same design as her pants was wrapped loosely around her neck.

The next to come inside was a young man about the same age as the previous girl. He had spiky, dark hair that pointed up and off the his left side. His eyes were dark with tiny pupils and irises. He wore a beige, baggy t-shirt with two black stripes around the shoulders and three prints of the symbol for death down the front. The sides of his face had worn, metal face guards running down their lengths. As with the girl before him, he wore a snake camouflaged scarf around his neck.

The final person entered slowly, his bow-legged stance not interfering at all with his purposeful strides. His back was hunched over greatly, making him look much smaller than he actually was. Bandages covered most of his face and head; only his left eye was left uncovered. He wore a large, gray poncho with long sleeves that hung down past his hands. He too had a snake patterned scarf around his neck. A straw raincoat protruded from the back of his scarf down to his knees.

All five ninja entered and settled themselves into the room. The two older shinobi stood in front with the younger three standing behind them. The one thing all five of them shared in common was the metal forehead protector they wore on their brows, a single eighth note adorning the center.

"Kotone? What're you doin' here?" Hiroshi asked. His tone and widened eyes conveying his sheer surprise at their appearance.

"Nice to see you too, geezer," The elder woman of the newcomers answered. She sent quick glare at Team Eight. "And I could be asking the same thing about those four Konoha shinobi." Athena met her gaze impassively.

"We were hired by Prefect Satou to help police Ibaraki." Kotone tapped her index finger against her cheek in a mocking thinking pose.

"Hmm, that's funny because we were hired to the same thing, just like we have been for the past two years." Hiro interrupted her before she could continue.

"I already told you last time y'all were here that I was endin' my contract with Otogakure. Konoha offered us a lower rate, and we need to save all the money we can what with the price of crops droppin' so low these days. Just who in the sam hell hired you back on?" Kotone only looked at Kenji, who was beginning to shuffle nervously. With a speed that hardly seemed to befit a man his age, Hiroshi jumped out of his chair, grabbed his walking stick, and smacked Kenji on the side of his head with it.

"Ahhh! You old coot, what the fu-Ow!" Hiro hit him with another blow.

"That secon' one was fer not watchin' yer language. The first one was fer goin' behind my back and hirin' a squad of shinobi with village money." The young man glared at the older one while rubbing his reddening skin. "Why in the name of Kami would ya do somethin' so stupid?"

"Because of them!" He shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Athena. "Kotone and her squad were doing just fine, but nooo, you had to go and hire some foreigners who know nothing about us, just to save a few bucks." Hiroshi stamped his foot in anger.

"You brat. Don't you get what you've done? If this ain't handled right, this could turn inta a war with Ibaraki in the middle."

"This wouldn't have had to happen at all if you had just stuck with Otogakure. Besides, I wouldn't have had to go behind your back if you actually gave me some power around here instead of having to sit back and watch you do all the work everyday." The boy spat.

"You know full well why I don't, Kenji."

"Why, because of that thing with Emiko?" His response only earned him another smack from Hiro's stick.

"No, that's not why, but you'd be smart to remember that tryin' ta fool around with yer boss' granddaughter ain't a very good idea. Now get out a my sight before I give you's another lump." Kenji was about to say something, but Hiro brandished his stick causing the younger man to quickly scramble for the door and out the building. Hiroshi slumped back down into his chair and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Nice to see Kenji hasn't changed much in the month we've been gone." Kotone giggled happily. The elderly man shook his head.

"That boy's gonna be the end of me, I swear. He's got a silver tongue in a pig's head, and nothin' good's ever come of it." He looked at Athena and bowed his head. "Please forgive my apprentice's actions. He means well, but sometimes he ain't got a lick of sense. It was nice seein' you again Kotone, but as you can see we already have things covered. Don't worry, y'all can keep the money Kenji payed ta make up fer the trouble he caused." The female shinobi shook her head.

"Sorry, Hiroshi, but the contract Kenji signed says that any attempt by Ibaraki to end the assignment early will mean you have to pay the Sound six times what he already did to hire us. It was the only way our leaders would agree to job here after you cut the last one short." Hiro muttered a string of curses under his breath.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Yer still only here fer the standard one month trial period though, right?" The Sound jounin nodded in confirmation. "Well at least the boy didn' screw with that part of it. Fine then, y'all can stay here and help the Konoha shinobi get familiar with the village. We'll sort the rest of this out at the end of the month." The old man cracked his back before standing up. "Might as well show you Konoha shinobi were you'll be stayin'. Kotone, you an' yer squad, and your friend there can come with if you want. I'm sure Miki'll be glad ta see y'all again." At that, Hiroshi grabbed his stick and bag and left the room. A somewhat tense moment passed between the two groups of shinobi before they followed behind the old man.

XXX

**And...Scene! Well that is the first part of Team Eight's C-rank done. Bet none of you saw that coming. But you'll have to wait for the next part because next up is Team Ten, and if any of you can remember how the C-rank in Chapter Three went with Kratos, just imagine what this will be like.**

**Speaking of which, by show of hands, how many of you went back and reread the first chapter? Well those of you that did might have noticed something different about it. That's right, the entire chapter has been revised and updated. Nothing changed plotwise, but now it is just written a lot better. Seriously, have any of you ever gone back to something you wrote a while ago and thought "Man, I was not very good back then." Yeah, that happened to me when I went back and read through my first chapter again. So consider this my early Halloween gift to you guys, and I don't want to hear anything about how that is still almost a month off. Tell that to the stores around my home. Seriously, they've had their Halloween stuff out since mid-September! **

**Anyways, enough of my ramblings, I have to get to class before The Dark Void notices I'm not there.**

**Glock3bb, out!**


	11. The Hunt Part I

**I do not own Naruto or God of War. As I am quickly running out of ideas for disclaimers, The Dark Void will on that responsibility for a few chapters. Yay!**

**Now, I know it's been a while since I updated, but (insert standard paragraph about finals, holidays, etc). Seriously though, I swear I'll have a consistent update schedule eventually. Until then, enjoy the chapter.**

XXX

The young girl ran as fast as she could underneath a blazing, high-noon sun. A rapid tempo of blood pounding through her veins mixed together with the steady thumping of feet against the cracked earth in her ears. Her mouth was dry and sandy; her tongue cried out for even a single drop of water. Sweat poured down the girl's face as her body struggled to keep her cool. The girl's lungs worked harder than ever to try and satisfy her screaming muscles. Her aching arms and legs monotonously pumped back and forth, carrying her exhausted self further along the ditr path. She could feel her sore soles beginning to blister, but she could not stop. If she stopped, she would be left behind, and the girl's pride refused to let that happen.

Out of the corner of either eye, Ino could see her teammates struggling to continue on as well. Shikamaru's gray shirt was almost black from the perspiration of his skin, and for once the tired look in his stare was not simple laziness. Choji had long since abandoned his scarf and bandana. The poor boy had been forced to haphazardly stuff the two items into his backpack all while still trying to keep pace. Ino was sure that the Akamichi was having the hardest time out of the three of them, for the genin had been forced to eat only extremely light rations for the past three days. The large boy's clan had never been known for their healthy eating habits.

Of course, that was not to say that any of them were out of shape. Each of the three had done at least decently well in the physical training portion of the Academy, though Ino knew Shikamaru had only put in the minimum effort needed to avoid his mother's nagging. No, the Yamanaka heiress knew that the singular reason for their current suffering was the lone man they were running after.

The blonde shot the best heated glare she could muster in her current condition at her sensei, not that it mattered. Him seeing it would imply that he had actually stopped and waited long enough for them to catch up. As it was, the three were barely able to keep him within eyesight.

This was supposed to be a right of passage for them, and for three straight days it had been nothing but unending torment. The three genin started running as soon as it was light enough to see ten feet in front of themselves, and they did not cease until sun was completely set. When one of them passed out, Kratos-sensei would halt and allow the three a brief respite while that child recovered enough to continue once more.

On and on they went for six full days, a large city finally came into view during the afternoon of the sixth. The massive urban center rose out of the landscape in harsh contrast to the surrounding forest, but it was not until night had almost fallen that Team Ten managed reached it's outskirts. There the genin found their teacher standing outside of small inn.

"Room 203." Kratos said upon his students reaching him; he then tossed a small key at Ino and proceeded to disappear into the establishment. The girl fumbled a bit trying to catch the tiny object in the dark, fuming at the empty air where her sensei had been after she finally managed to do so.

"Come on, Ino. Let's just go inside." Shikamaru sighed at her antics.

"Hmph." The Yamanaka huffed before following her childhood friends inside, running right into a man who had been passing near the door. The man stumbled back a bit, but the large bundle of sheets in his arms cushioned the impact enough that he did not fall.

"Oops, sorry about that. It's kind of hard for me to see where I'm going at the moment." The man said, jostling the blankets a bit for emphasis. He was a young man in his mid-twenties, a little under six feet tall with medium length, jet-black hair. His charcoal eyes were covered by a pair of thinly framed glasses. A white apron draped down his front over his tan tunic. The man peered around the bundle as best he could to get a better look at the three. "Ah, you must be the young masters Master Kratos mentioned earlier. Follow me, and I'll show you to your room."

Having nothing better to do at the moment, the genin fell in line behind the man and accompanied him up the flight of stairs just off to the left of the main entrance. Two stories and a short walk down a hallway later, and they had arrived.

"Here we are, room 203. These are actually the bedsheets for this room, so if you would wait out here for a little bit, I'll have it ready in no time." The man said pleasantly as he unsuccessfully tried open the door. The genin stood awkwardly to the side, watching his failed attempts, when Choji spoke up.

"Umm...Do you need some help?"

"Oh no, no, no, no, no. Don't worry about it, young masters. You came here to rest, not work." Shikamaru started to let out a breath of relief but stopped when Ino dug her elbow into his side. The Yamanaka stepped forward and opened the door for the struggling man.

"Thank you." He said, his cheeks coloring.

The interior of the room was quaint with four separate beds spaced evenly apart. In between each of the beds was a medium sized dresser with a mirror on top. To the left of the door was a small bathroom. A pair of windows overlooked the front of the inn. The man set his bundle of sheets on the nearest cot, and the four went to work. Never one for prolonged silences, Ino decided to small talk while they did so.

"So, you work here?" She asked while tucking in a corner.

"Actually, I'm the owner of this inn." The man said a bit embarrassingly. "Uliriamu Xie, at your service."

"Wait, if you own this place, then why are you doing something as troublesome as this yourself?" Shikamaru inquired of their host as he flopped down on the bed Choji and he had finished making.

"There's no one else to do it. This place does not get very many tenants at one time, so I haven't bothered to hire anyone else. I'm usually able to handle workload all on my own." Uliriamu explained.

"Don't you have any family nearby?" Choji questioned.

"No, my wife and I moved here from the northern side of the Land of Fire seven years ago. It was our dream to start an inn, nothing to fancy, simply a nice place where people could rest without having to deal with the bustle of the city."

"So then, doesn't your wife help?" The innkeeper smiled sadly.

"She died almost a year ago." Instantly, the mood in the room sobered .

"I'm sorry." Ino apologized softly. Uliriamu waved his hand.

"It's fine. I had my time to grieve, and now I've moved on like I know she would have wanted." Any further conversation quickly died off after that, and the four finished their task quietly. Once it was done, Uli clapped his hands together.

"Well, thank you for your help, you three. Dinner has already been served for tonight, but I would more than happy to bring you up any leftovers. If not, breakfast is from seven to eight tomorrow morning." At the mention of food, each of the genin suddenly remembered the state their bodies were in. A home-cooked meal sounded delicious at the moment, but ultimately the siren song of sleep won out. Ino and Choji followed Shikamaru's example, and all three let out tired groans before surrendering to slumber.

XXX

The next morning, Ino groggily scarfed down as much food as she could in the inn's dining area. Because the inn was not very big, the first floor only had a few rooms on either sid with the middle portion set up with an assortment of tables and chairs. A portion of the back right corner was sectioned off to serves as a kitchen. There, a warm fire burned inside of a large brick and mortar oven. Choji sat beside Ino as she ate, outpacing the petite girl by a large measure. Shikamaru was, of course, still upstairs sleeping.

A voice in the back of the platinum blonde's head reminded her that she was supposed to be on a diet, but she simply told the voice to shut up because she was hungry. Last night's sleep had started her body's long road of recovery, but the Yamanaka highly doubted that Kratos-sensei would be nice enough to give them a break today. Therefore, she had to make sure she would have the energy to make it through whatever fresh hell he had them doing. Her suspicions were proved correct when the gray-skinned man entered through the back door.

"Pack your bags. We're leaving in thirty minutes." Kratos commanded as he walked past the two and out through the front. Ino scowled at him and quickly finished off her plate.

Up in their room, Shikamaru was rudely awakened by a dark red apple smacking him in the face. The boy grumbled something under his breath, and Ino threw another one as a follow up. The lazy jerk, he should be glad she had brought him anything. She could have just let him starve for considering a few more minutes of sleep more important than filling his empty stomach, but noooo, she was a good teammate. A short time later, the group took off once more for the city.

Hours passed by, and the landscape began to change around the traveling shinobi. The thick woods gave way to humble homes and neighborhoods. These, in turn, were replaced by larger businesses and apartment complexes until the four found themselves in the beating heart of the city.

Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji made sure to stay close behind their sensei so that they would not lose him in the organized chaos of the streets and sidewalks. All around them was a madhouse of activity. People moved about like ants in an anthill, going from one destination to the next in the familiar dance they performed every day.

Soon the crowds began to dissipate as the group continued on into the less than pleasant side of the city. Eventually, Kratos-sensei came to a halt in front of a small, run down tavern. The few windows there were were practically opaque from all the dirt and grime they had accumulated over the years. An old, weathered sign with only a few distinguishable letters hung above the door. The jounin teacher looked back over his shoulder at his students.

"Stay close, and do not talk with anyone." He growled, and Ino resisted the urge to roll her eyes at how melodramatic he sounded.

The interior of the pub was almost exactly as Ino had pictured it. Dimly lit, musty smell, hushed conversations, and patrons just as likely to share a drink with you as they were to stab you in the back. Said customers glanced up from what they were doing to size up the newcomers, but hastily went back to their own business at the imposing sight of the tattooed Greek.

Kratos-sensei ignored the stares and marched directly up to the bartender casually wiping clean a glass. The two men eyed each other for a moment, neither one saying a word. The tavern employee was thickly built with a barrel chest and strong shoulders. He had a burly, brown beard that hid the bottom portion of a diagonal scar across his face. His plaid short-sleeve shirt did little to hide his muscular frame.

"Jiyoosefu Burelki?"

"Who wants to know?" The man asked in a heavy accent. Kratos reached into his pouch and pulled out a sealed scroll. Handing it over, the bartender broke the glue and unfurled the paper. One short scan later, the bartender rolled the scroll back up and put in his own pocket. He then reached underneath the counter and tossed Kratos a small stack of bills. The jounin nodded, walked back the way he came; a bewildered trio of Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji were not far behind. Outside, Ino could no longer contain her curiosity.

"What was that all about?"

"That, was our mission. We will return to Konoha tomorrow." The Yamanaka stopped dead in her tracks.

"You're kidding us, right? That was our entire mission?"

"Yes." Kratos stated simply. Ino sputtered in sheer disbelief. As her sensei began the trip back to the inn, the platinum blonde could do nothing but tag along. Her body was running on autopilot while her mind tried to comprehend what she had learned. Not a single word was spoken during the entire journey back.

It was almost time for diner when the four finally got back to their temporary housing. Ino drifted through the front door like a ghost with her teammates staying close behind her. In the twelve years that they had known her, neither Shikamaru or Choji could remember a time when she had ever been this quiet, and they were severly unnerved by it.

The group reached their room and retreated inwards. Ino said nothing as she fell backwards onto her bed. She slowly grabbed a nearby pillow, covered her face with it, and let loose a furious scream.

Choji jerked backwards in surprise, and Shikamaru's could not stop his hand from palming his face. Ino emptied every breath of air from her lungs then settled for punching the side of her pillow with hate-filled fists.

"Are...you...okay, Ino?" A nervous Choji asked his female friend. Ino sat straight up, tearing the pillow away her face.

"No, I'm not okay." She snapped. "Our sadist of a sensei just dragged us across the entire Land of Fire, almost killing us from exhaustion, all so that one stupid scroll could be delivered to some random person in a bar."

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered. Ino focused her wither gaze on him, and the Nara actually felt a chill run down his spine from it's intensity.

"Don't start with me, Shikamaru Nara."

"I'm sure he had a reason for it." Choji tried to defend weakly. Ino rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I know exactly why he did it." The Yamanaka puffed out her chest and put a sneer on her face.

"I don't want to teach weaklings, so prove to me you are worthy by running nonstop for six days while I starve you." She said in a low mocking voice. Choji nodded his head hesitantly. From what little they had been able to learn about their new teacher, that did sound like something he would do.

It was then that a sudden knock halted any further ranting. The door opened up slightly, and Uliriamu's head poked in.

"Is everything alright in here? I could hear someone yelling from downstairs." Shikamaru sighed.

"Don't worry about it. We're just a little frustrated with our sensei at the moment." Ino snorted at his understatement.

"Okay, well, I just finished making dinner, so you can eat when you're hungry."

"I think we'll wait until after our Sensei's left." The Nara said dryly.

"Oh, if that's the case, how about I sneak some up and let you three eat in here?" The boy shrugged his shoulders.

"Sure." Uli closed the door behind him, and Shikamaru rubbed his forehead. "This is all such a drag."

Downstairs, Uliriamu hummed softly to himself behind the kitchen counter as he gathered up supper for the children. He placed three plates on a tray and turned around to head back up the stairs, but when he did, the innkeeper almost jumped out of his skin at the sight of Kratos now standing on the other side.

"Ah, umm, hello, Master Kratos. I was just...umm...bringing your students their...uhhh." He trailed off. The shorter man coughed lightly then went on. "Your's is over there when you want it." Kratos only stared coldly at him. "Are you sure that's all you want? I could whip up something better if..." The Ghost of Sparta narrowed his eyes, and Uliriamu understood the unspoken message. He scurried around the counter and up the steps as fast as he could without spilling the contents of his platter.

Kratos' gaze stayed on the the young man until he had vanished from sight. Once he had, the former God of War sat at on of the tables and wolfed down his meal of bread, salted pork, and a few slices of cheese in silence. He washed it down with a flask of wine, draining the leather canteen in seconds.

However, the moment after he did so, Kratos knew something was wrong. The fact that he was a demigod usually meant that foreign substances such as alcohol had little effect on him, if they had any at all. This time though, he could see his vision already starting to swim. His head was spinning faster and faster. The Spartan gripped the counter to try and steady himself. He fought as hard as he could against the blackness invading the edges of his eyes, but it was no use. Kratos collapsed and fell once more into a sea of crimson torture.

XXX

"-r a backwoods innkeeper, he sure does have some good stuff."

"Damn right, he does. I almost feel sorry for the poor bastards. They had to haul those kids all the way back to the base while we get to stay behind and get sloshed." The red ocean relinquished its hold on Kratos as he returned consciousness. The sound of two different voices reached his ears.

"You know, I don't think the boss'll mind to much if we took a bit of a vacation after we drop this fucker off at the bounty office."

"You talkin' 'bout that whorehouse near the pier?" His eyesight gradually came back into focus. Two men were standing across the room, facing away from him. A large bottle was passed back and forth between them.

"Course I am." He was lying in the corner of a room, his wrists and ankles bound together. The Blades of Athena were still on his back, and he could hear their howling for nourishment.

"Alright, I'm in." A series of loud snaps caught the pair's attention. The one on the right had barely even twitched when the sake bottle they had been drinking from shattered over his head, and he found himself hurled out the second story window. The second man swore and hurried to draw a knife from his belt. Kratos grabbed that arm by the wrist and struck the upper portion with a vicious blow, fragmenting the man's humerus into tiny pieces. He then twisted limp limb upwards, so the razor sharp edge was pressed against his former captor's jugular. The man's pupils dilated right before Kratos dragged his arm across, causing the man to slit his own throat.

Kratos let the man drop to the ground as he shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind. He looked around the room and saw the same layout as the inn his team had been staying at. This fact caused all other thoughts to come to a grinding halt, for his brain had finally registered what the men had been talking about prior to their deaths.

The Ghost of Sparta burst into the motel hallway, barreling towards his students' room. When he found it, his hands clenched into fists, and rage welled up inside of him.

Room 203's door was wide open. The inside was pristine with no sign of the three children. It was like they had never been there to begin with.

Forcing himself focus, Kratos looked away and headed downstairs. The decent was slightly unsteady at first, for the effects of whatever drug had been given to him still lingered in his system. Fortunately for him, it did not last long as his body filtered out the final remnants of the blasted poison.

The ground floor of the inn was an utter mess. Tables and chairs were tipped over. Food and trash were strewn about; empty flagons and broken glass littered the floor. A pair of trash bags and a broom indicated that someone has been trying to clean it up, but there was no one in sight.

A light shuffling from the kitchen corner caught Kratos' immediate attention. Apparently the room was not as deserted as it first seemed. Not wasting any time, he marched straight over to the area where this entire affair had started, knocking away any furniture in his path. When the Spartan reached the counter, he grasped the jutting lip in his massive hands. The aged wood creaked and groaned from the strain of his flexing muscles until it finally gave way, and the once great god ripped the entire divider from the ground.

Uliriamu tried to scramble away on his hands and knees but was stopped by the slab of lumber slamming down in front of his face. Kratos grabbed the innkeeper by the back of the neck and dragged him up off the ground.

"Where are they?" He roared.

"I, don't know." Uli managed to gasp out despite the demigod's painful grip. Kratos snarled and smashed the younger man's head against the stone oven. He pulled the sniveling proprietor in so close there was barely and inch separating them.

"Do not test my patience, worm." The tormented man threatened.

"A-a small island of th-the coast of the Land of Rivers." Uliriamu stammered. "P-please, you have to understand. I had to do it. There was no other choice. They would have killed if I had refused. Please have mercy." The innkeeper's voice rose with his desperation. The dinning hall fell silent while the Ghost of Sparta ground his teeth in anger. Finally, Kratos dropped Uliriamu to the ground, releasing him from his grasp.

"The strong have no need for mercy." He spat venomously.

Tears streamed down Uli's face as he fell to his knees.

"Thank you. Yes, yes, I understand. I promise I'll get stronger. Oh gods, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank y-grck"

The words of gratitude died abruptly in Uliriamu's throat. Mouth agape, he looked down, eyes wide in horror at the Blade of Athena embedded in his chest. He coughed breathlessly; blood and spittle ran freely out the corners of his mouth. Kratos twisted his sword harshly and wrenched it from the eviscerated abdomen.

"The weak do not deserve it."

The Ghost of Sparta left the lifeless corpse where it lay, never once looking back as he walked out of the inn. Glancing up at the sinking sun, Kratos turned towards the west and began to run.


	12. Crossings Part I

**I do not own Naruto nor God of War, and neither does Glock3bb.**

XXX

"Are we there yet?" Naruto moaned as he trudged along the earthen road.

"No." A chorus of voices answered him.

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we-*smack* oww."

"Thank you, Sakura."

"You're welcome, Kakashi-sensei." The group continued on while Naruto cradled his injured cranium. They had been traveling for five days now, and the monotony of it was starting to take its toll. The shinobi were forced to proceed at a much slower pace than normal in order to accommodate the sluggish speed of their client's carriage.

The carriage itself was a fairly elegant piece. It seated up to four people in the cab plus an additional two in the driver's seat. Large, ornate wheels carried the passengers along in relative ease despite the roughness of the road. A pair of beefy oxen was out front, pulling the beautifully decorated carriage along its way. All in all, it was a vehicle designed far more for luxury than swiftness.

"Do not worry, Naruto. It should not be long now." Akihiro said cheerfully from within the carriage.

"I know; I'm just ready for some action already." Naruto sighed, swinging his sword about in a slow pattern. The middle-aged merchant could help but laugh at the boy's antics.

"So much like your father. The first to a fight and the last one leave, eh?" He boomed while holding his ample stomach. Naruto stopped what he was doing and looked at the man.

"You know my Dad?"

"Of course, I've had the pleasure of hiring both your father and your mother on multiple occasions." He laughed again. "I actually tried to request either of them first for this mission, but apparently, they were reluctant to do so, having just acquired new genin teams of their own. I guess I'll have to make do with their son, the last of the Uchiha, and the great copy ninja himself." Akihiro continued to guffaw.

Naruto could only quirk an eyebrow at his team's client. Something told him that was only part of the reason his parents had turned down the job. He did not seem to be the only one thinking that, for Sasuke had sent a brief glare at the two from the other side of the carriage. Strangely though, it did not seem solely focused on Mr. Fukui. The balding gentleman wiped a tear from his eye.

"In any case, it matters little. You four will not have to lift single finger if there is any luck to be had."

"What do you mean? I thought we were supposed to help protect your property from bandits."

"I mean what I said. My own men will hopefully be able to put a stop to the attacks once and for all before another one is launched." The blond scratched his head in confusion.

"But why not just hire some shinobi to do all of that for you?" Akihiro's face turned somber at that point.

"Naruto, do you see those men?" He questioned, gesturing to the front of the carriage. There, five soldiers were walking, fanned out in a semicircle ahead of the carriage. Each of them wore simple armor and carried a long spear rested against their right shoulder. They had been accompanying the group on their travel before Team Seven had even left the village. Naruto had wondered who exactly they were but never bothered to ask because it was not that important to him.

"Every one of them is a member of my personal guard. It is their duty to protect myself, my family, and my estate with their lives. As such, the fact that this recent batch of rapscallions has managed to prove so troublesome is a blow to their entire company's honor. Hiring a team of ninja to do it for them would only prove to pour salt on that open wound. It would send a message that I am no longer confident in their abilities and find them incapable of doing the job I hired them for. In addition, it would say to those who live in the area around me that my forces are weak and that my lands may be ripe for the taking."

"Doesn't hiring us do all of that any way?" Mr. Fukui shook his head.

"Not quite. Because it will take a large portion of their numbers to put these brigands down for good, the defenses at my home will be stretched thin. Hiring your team says that I recognize my men are only human and would never ask them to do the impossible. They may not like shinobi taking care of their problems for them, but they do not mind having them around to watch their backs."

Naruto clasped his hands behind his neck and frowned as he listened to Akihiro. A lot of what he had said made sense, but all of the double meanings and hidden messages left a bad taste in his mouth. It was simply the kind of person he was. He did not like to beat around the bush and just said whatever was on mind, with little regard to what others thought.

The Uzumaki was not given much more time to think about the topic, for when the party crested a small hill, they were finally able to set eyes upon the Fukui villa and the bloody fight commencing in front of its main gate.

"Oh dear." Akihiro whispered quietly. The sound of a book snapping shut suddenly caught everyone's attention.

"Well, it looks like it's time for us to get to work." Kakashi said, placing his copy of Icha Icha back into his satchel. The five members of the merchant's guard were already forming up into a defensive stance around the carriage.

"Sasuke, Sakura, stay with Mr. Fukui and find a way to get him into the manor safely. I'm sure there is a side entrance meant for just this sort of event, correct?" The leader of the guardsmen gave Kakashi a crisp salute.

"Yes, sir. They will be safe with us."

"Naruto, you're with me. We'll see if we can't give those other guards a bit of a helping hand." Naruto grinned maliciously and began to limber up his limbs.

XXX

"Stand your ground, men! Don't let a single one of these bastards through." A sergeant yelled to his troops as they fought tooth and nail with the attacking group of renegades. Currently, they had the advantage, being able to put their backs to the stone wall that surrounded their master's property and fend of the enemy with their spears, but it would not last forever. They needed reinforcements fast, otherwise they would become too exhausted to defend.

"Earth Style: Earth wall jutsu." Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and a giant wall of dirt rose up, forming a barrier between the two forces. Any bandit that had been unlucky enough to be standing on top of that area was thrown high into the air. Their comrades stopped what they were doing and watched as they went plummeting back down to Earth. With their attention drawn skyward, they did not notice the orange clad boy appear at the right flank.

Naruto ran straight at the first person he saw, his xiphos at the ready. He lunged forward and buried the blade deep into the man's back. The cold steel pierced straight through his beating heart, and he slumped to the ground, dead.

The blond genin yanked his sword out of the corpse and stumbled back slightly. That had been the first time he had ever taken a life. His body froze as his mind tried to comprehend what had happened. The brigands that were nearby finally noticed him and moved to attack, but luckily for Naruto, his training kicked in instinctively.

He blocked the first strike with ease then kicked the offender hard in the shin. The man yelped in pain, allowing Naruto to move in closer and slash him diagonally across the chest. He could feel every bump as his weapon dug deep into flesh, gliding effortlessly over the man's rib cage.

Rolling to the side, Naruto dodged a rusty sword aiming for his spiky haired head. He got back onto his feet and saw another bandit trying to smash him into the ground with an overhead swing of his mace. He paid dearly for leaving his stomach completely unprotected when Naruto rapidly stabbed him multiple times in the intestines.

He tore his blade free and spun around to find another opponent. One unfortunate soul happened to be standing to close to the child, so Naruto swung his sword low with all his might. The man howled in agony as Naruto actually managed to slice all the way through his knee, cleanly severing the limb. His cries were swiftly ended by a xiphos to the trachea.

"Retreat!" A panicked call sounded out, and the bandits quickly began to scatter into the surrounding woods. Naruto was almost bowled over in the frantic stampede that followed.

"Cowards! Get back here and fight!" He yelled at their shrinking backs as they ran away as fast as they could. He was about to give chase when his brain finally registered everything that had happened in the past minutes. Naruto collapsed to his knees, his body shivering uncontrollably.

He knew that being a ninja meant he would eventually have to kill someone, and a good portion of his time at the Academy had been set aside to help prepare his class for this exact moment. In his mind, Naruto tried to dehumanize the people he had killed just like he had been taught to do, but it did little to help.

No one had ever told him how easy it would be. None of the teachers explained how simple the actual act would be. One flick of his sword and someone else's life was gone, forever.

A comforting hand was placed on Naruto's shoulder. He looked up into the knowing eye of his sensei and tried to speak, but any word died in his throat. The blond idly noticed the blood of others splattered across his sensei's clothes.

He did not know how long they remained in that position. In silence, Kakashi helped him get back onto his feet and guided him through the metal gates to the large house that lied within.

XXX

Naruto sat quietly on a bed in one of the small rooms Mr. Fukui had provided for his team during their stay. His legs were pulled up close to his chest with his arms wrapped tightly around them.

Nearby were Sasuke and Sakura, both of them sharing the shell-shocked look in his own eyes. Apparently, there had been a small contingency of bandits lying in wait for anyone that tried to get through the back entrance while the main attack was going on. None of the guards that went with them made it.

Naruto shuddered and tried to curl into an even tighter ball. He could not think about anything except for the cold, lifeless stare of the men he had killed. Never again would they light up with joy or smolder with anger. They would never again be wetted by tears of sadness. They would remain empty for the rest of time, devoid of every emotion, and it had taken him less than three minutes to make it so.

He wanted his parents. He wanted to feel the warm, comforting embrace of his mother as she whispered quietly in his ear that everything would be alright. He wanted to feel the unwavering strength that filled his body whenever he stood by his father's side. He wanted them to make things better like they always did.

"Alright, I need you three to listen up." Leaning against the wall by the door, Kakashi-sensei broke the silence that had been permeating the tiny bedroom. The copy ninja looked at each of his student to make sure they were paying attention before continuing on. "I know what you're going through. I would like to tell you that it gets easier over time, but I'd be lying. You are shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Killing is a part of what we do."

"This time you were lucky. The men you killed were thieves and murderers that the world is better off without, but that won't always be the case. Mothers, sons, sisters, friends, it does not matter. There will come a time when you will be forced to kill them. It's not right or fair, but that is the kind of world we live in. You must be prepared to live with that fact for the rest of your life."

"How do we do that?" Sakura asked shakily in a voice barely above a whisper. Naruto glanced over at the female member of his team. Her head was down, looking at the hands folded neatly in her lap. Liquid was welling up in her eyes. Sasuke appeared to be doing the best out of all three of them, but it was hard for Naruto to tell. His stoic visage did not let a single hint of what he was truly feeling escape the inner workings of his mind.

Kakashi closed his one visible eye exhaled slowly through his nose.

"I can't tell you because I don't know. The answer is different for every person. Some spend their entire lives never discovering it. However, I can give one piece of advice."

"Focus on what you are feeling right now. Killing may be a duty all shinobi must be prepared to carry out, but that is all it should ever be. The fact that you three feel this way proves that you are still human, and that's okay. The death of another person should never make you feel good. The moment it does, you will be no better than the men you killed today." The Hatake stood up straight and opened the bedroom door.

"Get some rest. Tomorrow, our mission will begin in full."

XXX

"Mr. Hatake." As Kakashi quietly closed the door behind him, a low tenor voice addressed him from a short ways down the hall. He turned and saw a man clad in samurai armor approaching.

While the scaled plates themselves were a dark, forest green, the straps were light brown and the robes underneath jet black. A katana and wakizashi were strapped securely to his waist, the larger sword curiously on his right side. His hair was pulled back into a short ponytail that just barely reached the base of his neck and was a slightly darker shade of his armor. His eyes were a bright turquoise, and he could see them examining him in turn.

There was not a single wasted movement in his gait as he marched up to the Konoha shinobi, an air of authority surrounding him. This fact made it even more surprising when he bowed low and introduced himself.

"Good evening. I am Mamosuke Oshiro, captain of Master Akahiro's guard. I am about to go and make my report to him about today's attack. I believe there are a few things you will be interested in." Kakashi nodded.

"Lead the way." He said, taking a step to the side to allow Mamosuke to pass. The jounin fell in behind him as the two began their journey through the manor. In no time at all, they came to an lavish door near the front entrance. The captain knocked sharply three times then waited.

"Come in," came the weary answer. Inside, Mr. Fukui stood in front of a large window, his forehead pressed against the cool glass. The room itself was a personal study, the wall packed with books and scrolls. The Hatake noticed that many of them were various business documents that had accumulated over the years. Mamosuke strode forward and came to a halt in front of the sole pieces of furniture that inhabited the room, an cushy chair and elaborate desk littered with paper. In contrast, Kakashi stayed behind, taking up a place in one of the darker corners.

"Captain Mamosuke Oshiro, here to make my report." Akihiro shook his head slightly.

"Mamo, how many times do I have to tell you not to be so formal." Oshiro did not respond, preferring to simply remain at attention . The merchant sighed. "Proceed."

"We have recovered all of the bodies left from the battle. Preliminary reports put the number of casualties at eighteen of our own men and sixty-three for the attackers. This, of course, does not include any that may have died afterwords from the wounds they sustained. There was no major structural damage to the walls or gates."

"Good. Give the men my gratitude and inform them that the funeral service will be held three days from now." Mamosuke ignored the dismissal.

"There is more, my master. A few of the bandits were still alive when we collected them." His eyes narrowed, his voice turning grave. "One of them was Goro Kobayashi."

Akihiro's face paled at the name. He turned and stumbled to his chair, sinking down into it. His body fell forward, his elbows supporting him as his hands clenched his hair.

"Are you sure?" Oshiro nodded.

"He died an hour ago from a deep laceration across his chest, but before he did, we were able to persuade him to give us every bit of information he had." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Tenzen is supplying these bandits with both weapons and man power. His Stalkers are the ones who organized and command them."

Having listened intently to the exchange, Kakashi decided enter it himself.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I seem to be at a disadvantage. Who are Goro and Tenzen?"

"Tenzen Daikoku, politician and former aid of the Water Daimyo." Mamosuke answered. "When he retired, the Daimyo gave to him a vast amount of land as a gift for his years of faithful service. Since then, he has used his accumulated wealth and influence to garner a massive criminal empire and amass even more of this peninsula under his control."

"Now he's using that power to fund a pseudo-war in an attempt to take your land by force, most likely because Mr. Fukui refused an offer to sell it." Kakashi finished for him. The captain nodded.

"The Stalkers are the top men of his organization. Not much is known about them other than they keep mostly to themselves. They carry out Daikoku's will behind the scenes, rarely ever getting involved personally."

"So, who is Goro?"

"He was member of Tenzen's syndicate in the area, important enough to know a few facts but low enough to not be considered valuable. It was he who first brought us Daikoku's offer to purchase this land."

The room fell silent as the men became caught up in their own musings. Minutes passed like seconds until Oshiro eventually broke the hush.

"Mr. Hatake, would you and your team," Kakashi held up his hand to stop the man before he could finish.

"I know what you're going to ask, but I'm afraid that's slightly above my team's pay grade at the moment. I could do it myself, but it would take time and preparation. Plus, that would leave no one to look after my student's in the meantime. Your best bet would be to hire another team from Konoha specifically tailored for such a mission."

"That is not an option. My master's funds are already stretched thin; he cannot afford to pay the price your village would require for infiltration and assassination." Those final three words were enough to rouse Mr. Fukui from his daze. His eyes bounced erratically between the two warriors as they continued their conversation.

"Now see here." Mr. Fukui finally managed to stammer out, standing up from his seat. "What's all this talk about infiltration and," He halted for a moment to try and swallow the lump in his throat. "Assassination. I suggest we all just settle down and take a deep breath. I'm sure that Mr. Hatake and his team will be more than enough to handle this band of ruffians, and Daikoku will eventually give up."

"It will not be that easy." Oshiro started.

"Yes, it will! There's no need to be so rash. Just give it a little time." The merchant continued to babble on incessantly, becoming more distraught by the moment.

"Akihiro!" Mamosuke snapped loudly, and the man fell quiet in an instant. "Whether you like it or not, we are at war. This problem will not simply 'go away' as you put it. Daikoku sent his best men to oversee this operation, which means he will not accept any failures. He will not stop until we are dead and he is in control of this land."

"This is not an opponent we can outlast. He has far more money and resources than we could ever compete with. Instead, our only hope is to cut off the head of this snake before it can strike a fatal blow. The Stalkers must die." Oshiro turned around and headed for the door. "If that is all, my master, I have a longstanding favor I must now go call upon." Mr. Fukui could only stare in surprise as the captain of his guard disappeared from sight. He sat down slowly into his chair and then buried himself into his work. Kakashi understood this to mean the meeting was over, leaving the man to burn the night oil away while he took up his post for the night.

XXX

Two figures stood alone on a tree branch overlooking the Fukui estate. A light, midnight fog covered the landscape as the moon and stars shined down upon the earth. Without a sound, they leaped out of the canopy over the stone barrier that laid before them. They landed near the edge of an orchard and swiftly raced towards the large manor in the distance. The two had barely exited the orderly thicket when a trio of kunai embedded themselves in their path.

Naruto stared intently at the pair he had intercepted. It had been four quiet days since his team arrived at Mr. Fukui's house; he should have known it would not last.

"Out of the way, brat." The much larger of the two growled at him. The blond smirked.

"Not gonna happen." He replied, drawing his short sword. Images of the men he killed previously flashed through the genin's mind before he shoved them away. He had a mission to do, and he could not get distracted. Besides, he could not help but feel himself becoming giddy at the prospect of a good fight, though he was a bit wary of the enormous sword strapped to the taller one's back.

"Naruto!" A voice called out. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw Sakura running towards him with Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke in tow. The blond and pinkette had split up right after they noticed the intruders. He supposed stall for time while she went and found the nearest form of backup who thankfully appeared to have been close by.

"Stand down, Naruto." Kakashi ordered when the three reached him. The Uzumaki did not move a muscle.

"Are you sure, Sensei?" He questioned.

"Don't worry, their on our side." His teacher told him. A loud snort rang out from the two Naruto had stopped.

"Heh, Sharingan Kakashi. To think that I would be called in to handle something one of Konoha's elite jounin was to weak-stomached to do himself."

"You should feel proud." Kakashi said, addressing the one that had spoken. "News of your failed coup attempt was heard about even in the Village Hidden in the Leaves." Sakura looked back and forth between, confused.

"Umm, Sensei, do you know this guy?" He nodded.

"Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist."

XXX

**Alright, that's a wrap. I truly am sorry this took so long to get out. Between school, sickness, and the fact that my laptop was out of commission for the better part of January, I didn't have a lot of free time to work on it. But, oh well, that's the way life goes sometimes. To make up for it, I have also uploaded revised versions of chapters 2,3,4 and 5.**

**Woo! Go me!**

**Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I look forward to seeing you next time.**

**Glock3bb out!**


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